Energy bites

These are perfect for a long walk or a picnic, and, like their cousin the saint truffle, contain no refined sugar but use coconut flakes (rather than desiccated) to add a little extra texture. Thanks to the toasted chopped hazelnuts they also have an underlying taste similar to Nutella so are incredibly moreish! I tend to make these into golf ball sized portions, but if you’re going to serve them as healthy treats then feel free to reduce them to tablespoon size.

Ingredients

• 3½ ounces / 100g peanuts
• 3½ ounces / 100g coconut flakes
• 2¼ ounces / 65g crunchy peanut butter
• 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder
• ¾ ounce / 20g dried chopped dates
• ¾ ounce / 20g toasted chopped hazelnuts
• 1 tablespoon of coconut oil
• 2¾ ounces / 80g whole pitted dates
• 1 ounce / 30g desiccated coconut

Method

Preheat the oven to 180°C (160°C) fan / 356°F (320°F fan).

Place the peanuts in a single layer on a baking tray and toast in the oven for 15 minutes until they’re starting to go golden.

Once the nuts have cooled, add them to a food processor with the coconut flakes and blitz until they come together in a breadcrumb like consistency.

Add the peanut butter, cocoa powder, dried chopped dates, hazelnuts and coconut oil and blitz until everything has come together.

Finally add the pitted dates and blitz until the mixture is smooth.  Don’t feel the need to make this into a puree as you want some of the nuts and coconut flakes to add to the texture.

Shape into small golf ball sized bites and then roll in the desiccated coconut before placing in the fridge to set.

Trivia

Desiccated coconut is the coconut meat that has been grated and dried. It contains no cholesterol or trans fats and is rich in essential nutrients including dietary fibre, manganese, copper, and selenium. But you need to recognise that it is high in saturated fat and can easily provide over 80% of your recommended daily allowance for an adult.