¼cup (25 g) raw cacao powder or unsweetened cocoa powder
1tablespoon(3 teaspoons) ground anise seeds
2teaspoonsground star anise
3tablespoonsblackstrap molasses
¼teaspoonfine sea salt
4tablespoons(30 g) cacao nibsor chopped walnuts
to roll the balls in:
3 tablespoonscoconut sugar
1tablespoon raw cacao powder or unsweetened cocoa powder
1teaspoon ground star anise
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350℉ (180℃). Spread the walnuts on a baking sheet and toast them for 10 minutes until they are lightly golden and smell aromatic. Cool.
Whiz the oats in a food processor to a coarse flour. Add the walnuts, dates, prunes, cacao powder, ground anise seeds, ground star anise, salt, and molasses. Grind to a coarse, homogeneous mass, where you can still see bits of nuts, but everything is well combined.
Add the cacao nibs and pulse the processor a few times to mix them in. The mixture will still look fairly crumbly.
To make the balls, press the crumbly mixture into a 1-tablespoon measuring spoon. Scoop the mixture into your hands and press it together to form a rough ball, then roll it smooth between your palms.
Mix together the coconut sugar, cacao powder, and ground star anise in a small bowl. Roll each ball as you make it in the powder mixture.
Continue until all the mixture is used up. You should have about 32 balls (1 tablespoon each).
Store the balls in a sealed container at room temperature for up to a week, or in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. They can also be frozen for up to 6 months.
Notes
If you can't find pre-ground anise seeds or star anise, it's easy to grind the whole seeds (and whole star anise pods) yourself in a spice grinder, coffee grinder, or high-speed blender (though you'll need larger quantities in a blender), or even grind them by hand with a mortar and pestle.