Peanut Cinnamon Date Balls

Mr Bus driver man has headed south with a buddy for some serious guy time. This involves dirt, motorbikes, sunshine and more dirt. I suspect beer will be involved somehow as well.

Before he left he requested some healthy snacks to take with him. While I applaud his request, I think he is secretly looking forward to eating at those truck stops down the I5 (shudder).

At any rate, I took him at his word and sent him off with some apple pecan spelt muffins (recipe to come later this week) and these little energy balls. I found both recipes on fANNEtastic food, another foodie whose blog I follow.

This couldn't be any easier to make, although if your food processor is anything like my food processor, the ingredients will have to be encouraged to get back in the line of the blade every few seconds until they reach perfect pulverization.

Start by getting your food processor out of the back of the cupboard. Don't forget to grab the accessory box while you're there. Use your small bowl and blade if you are only making a single batch. You can easily double or triple this recipe which is a good idea because they pack easily and are perfect for hiking, camping, or even having in your car when you are on the go.

Throw all the ingredients into the bowl and start processing. My dates were really hard. Probably bought them during the last ice age (not the one we had last week but probably the one before that). I put them in a pot with a bit of water and let them cook for a bit. That softened them right up.

Oh, make sure the dates are pitted. Very important.

Process a bit and then using a spatula, push the ingredients down off the side of the bowl. Do this a few dozen times. Eventually they will look like this. Only not as blurry in real time.

Scoop them up into your hands and roll into little balls. Then scrape the yummy goodness of your hands and eat it.

Tada! One recipe makes 6 of these little guys, but each one is packed with peanut power. Don't eat these if you are allergic to peanuts.

The Recipe - Peanut Cinnamon Date Balls

3/4 cup pitted dried dates
1/2 cup peanuts (get the unroasted and unsalted if you can)
1 Tbsp oats
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp water (not needed if you soak the dates first)

Toss in the food processor and pulse until everything is all ground up and sticking together. Form into balls. That's it!