Raw Salty Licorice Balls
I have never had a sweet tooth. I love to bake cakes and make sweet stuff, but I rarely eat any of it myself. My favorite treats are those salty things, like popcorn and licorice. Especially salty licorice! Oh my, I could eat it all day long!
Still, I want to avoid eating too much sugar and saturated fats and such. So I made my own licorice balls, and boy were they GREAT!
Not only great, they are also much healthier than sugary licorice from the store, they contain healthy fats from nuts and vitamin and minerals from dates and licorice powder. Licorice powder can be bought in health food stores. Here in Norway I buy mine at a store called “Søstrene Grene”, I’m not exactly sure where to find it in other countries but health food stores or online are normally a safe option.
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If you want to make the licorice balls sweet, just omit the salt. You can also add toasted buckwheat or sunflower seeds for extra crunch, or you can add cocoa powder for a chocolatey treat. Experiment! Make your own version. I have made raw food energy balls for years.
You can find some of them in our raw food section.
Ingredients for about 10-15 balls, depending on size:
- 1 cup raw cashew nuts, preferably soaked for 5-6 hours for better digestion (but you don’t have to)
- 3 tbsp coconut palm sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp sea salt (or more/less, after taste)
- 20 small juicy dates
- 3-4 tbsp licorice powder/licorice root powder
- Some extra licorice powder (or shredded coconut, or chopped nuts) to roll the balls in if you want
This is how you do it:
Add the cashew nuts (if soaked, drain them first) to a food processor and process into a ground flour. Just 10 seconds or so. Then remove the pits from the dates and add them in with the rest of the ingredients. Process into a smooth dough, slightly sticky. Roll balls of desired size with wet hands, roll them in licorice powder, shredded coconut or chopped nuts (or just let them be plain) and place them onto a plate covered with plastic foil or parchment paper.
Remember to taste the batter before making balls, to make sure it has the right flavor. Some like it more or less salty, you may want to add more vanilla or licorice etc.
Put the plate into the freezer until they are firm, and place them in a box. Keep them in the freezer or fridge. These will not freeze solid, so they can be kept in the freezer for ages and be eaten frozen, they are still chewy and delicious!
