Chocolate Walnut Cookie Dough Balls - If you love chocolate and eating raw cookie dough - you've come to the right spot! These little morsels of chocolatey goodness will fulfill your cravings. Plus, they're super nutritious and easy to make! (Skip to recipe.)
I still can't bring myself to eat raw cookie dough . . . but boy-oh-boy, can I devour these flourless cookie dough balls. And who would think that this chocolate walnut cookie recipe is nutritious too!
After the deliciousness of Gingerbread Cookie Dough Balls, I haven't been able to stop craving the doughy little morsels of sweet flavour. And I've had thoughts of chocolate in my head lately. Just knowing these cookie dough balls are full of wholesome and healthy ingredients distracts my brain enough that it thinks it's getting a decadent treat.
My brain doesn't care that there are healthy omega-3 fats and lots of vitamins and minerals from the walnuts, or that there is a good dose of healthy fiber from the oats, or that the cocoa powder is loaded with natural antioxidants. It doesn't even care that the sweetness from the dates makes these treats refined-sugar-free.
Nope. All my brain cares about is the chocolate fix that's getting satisfied and the sweet cravings that are being stilled.
YAY for healthy solutions to a chocoholic's addictions, and YAY for fooling your brain!
* * * * *
Kitchen Frau Notes: If you think you don't like walnuts, it's probably because you've mostly eaten them when they are already rancid. Walnuts go rancid quickly because of their high percentage of healthy oils. The nuts you buy on the grocery store shelves, in bags for baking, are often already past their prime. If you want good walnuts, it is imperative to find a reputable source of walnuts that has a high turnover to ensure the nuts are fresh. Once you taste fresh walnuts you'll know how rich, nutty, and delicious they can be.
Always store walnuts in the freezer to keep them at their optimal freshness.
Walnuts are slightly bitter (a much different and milder bitterness than the bitterness when they've gone rancid) because of their skins, which are rich in phenols, so don't remove them. When combined with dark chocolate, the slight bitterness of the nuts' skins blends with the natural bitterness of the chocolate to become part of the delicious addiction of this chocolate walnut cookie recipe.
*While I'm toasting the walnuts, I always toast a few extra to keep in a jar in my pantry so I have them handy for one of my favourite quick and healthy breakfasts: Yogurt, Honey, and Walnuts - Beautiful Breakfast Simplicity.
Chocaholic's Dream Chocolate Walnut Cookie Dough Balls
- ½ cup (60gms) oat flour or rolled oats (gluten-free, if necessary)
- 2 cups (200gms) fresh walnuts
- 1 cup (200gms) halved and pitted medjool dates - about 10 to 12
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- ⅓ cup (40gms) unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 tablespoon vanilla
- 1 to 2 tablespoons water
To roll the balls:
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder +4 tablespoons coconut sugar (or granulated sugar, if that's all you have)
- or finely chopped toasted walnuts
Preheat oven to 350° F. Spread the walnuts on a cookie sheet. Toast for 10 to 12 minutes, until the nuts are golden and you can smell their fragrant aroma. Let cool.
Place the oat flour or oats into the bowl of a food processor. If using oats, whiz them until they become a coarse flour.
Add the toasted walnuts, dates, salt, cocoa powder, vanilla and 1 tablespoon of water.
Process until the mixture comes together and whizzes around the bowl in mostly one large clump. You may have to stop the processor several times to push down the dough if it sticks to the sides of the bowl. Add the second tablespoon of water if it needs it to form a ball.
Stop processing as soon as the mixture comes together in a ball. If you process it too long, the nuts will become so fine they will start to release their oils, as if you were making nut butter. This doesn't alter the taste or nutritional value - it just makes it messier to roll the balls, since they are so oily (words of experience, here).
Mix the cocoa powder and coconut sugar in a small bowl.
Scoop out 1 tablespoon-sized chunks of the cookie dough. Roll into balls and roll the balls in the cocoa-sugar mixture or in the finely chopped nuts.
Leave at room temperature for several hours to dry, then store in a single layer in a container in the fridge for several weeks (though I defy you to keep them that long without eating them all up). Can be frozen, too.
Makes about 24 balls.
Guten Appetit!
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Gingerbread Cookie Dough Balls
Kerry
Mmmmm... I will definitely be making these for a Christmas treat. Good idea for a almost paleo dessert idea.
Margaret
Thanks, Kerry! Christmas has snuck up on me again, this year - it's so close and I'm not ready for it! But it definitely is time to think of a few treats to make for it. I don't know too much about the Paleo diet, but I'm thinking it's the oats that don't fit with their guidelines, right? My gingerbread cookie dough balls are made without oats, so maybe those would work for you, too. I found the walnuts were oilier and needed something to firm them up in these chocolate balls - that's why I added the oats, whereas the gingerbread balls use cashews, which are a starchier nut, so I didn't need to add oats. Both are yummy, and I have to confess I sneak a nibble quite often! Merry Christmas to you all, and happy times in the kitchen!
Meredith Adams
Think I will try these, but thinking of using half pecans, half walnuts. What do you think?
What a great combination of ingredients!
Margaret
Thanks, Meredith! I think half pecans will be great in these balls. Pecans have such wonderful flavour! To me they are the Christmas nuts, because they used to have that gorgeous red colour and stood out from all the nuts in the nutbowl my mom always had on the coffee table for the holidays. Happy Christmas baking to you!
Thalia @ butter and brioche
I definitely will be making these chocolate and walnut power balls as a healthier alternative to the traditional chocolate truffle this Christmas. Thanks for the delicious recipe!
Margaret
I hope you enjoy them! I love eating them, knowing they have good-for-you ingredients in them. Happy Christmas times around the table to you!
suzi
thinking dastardly thoughts… gonna try these and omit the vanilla, and add RUM!!
Margaret
OMG - Yes!!! What a good idea you've got! That will turn them into dressed-for-the-holidays wickedly yummy treats! Going to make another batch right now. Brilliant - thanks!
I might even leave in the vanilla and replace the water with rum for more flavour. So glad you got my brain thinking in that direction. They'll be great holiday treats.
Jeanine
Thinking peppermint extract OR peppermint schnapps as another option... 🙂
Margaret
Oh, wow, YES again! Peppermint Chocolate Balls - another great combination! You guys are thinking of all these great flavours - my mind was stuck in the one track. Thanks to you for the creative thinking - I'm seeing that these balls can be a great base for so many other flavours. Hmmm....maybe some orange peel, or dried cherry bits, or a hint of chili pepper ... that Christmas cookie platter has lots of possibilities now!
Deanna
cant wait to try this recipe:) was thinking of cacao in place of the cocoa? I like cacao 🙂
Margaret
Sounds great! Cacao would make them even healthier! Thanks for stopping by!