Paleo Brownie Bites (Gluten-Free, Grain-Free, No Refined Sugar, No Bake)

Pulse the coconut in a food processor for 30 seconds to a minute to form coconut crumbs. Remove from teh food processor and set aside.

Place pitted dates in a bowl of warm water for a minute to soften them up.

Add unsweetened cocoa powder and walnuts to the food processor, blend until walnuts become fine crumbs, but do not over process or you will get some kind of chocolate walnut butter.

Drain dates and place them in the food processor with the cocoa walnut crumbs. Add vanilla. Process until mixture starts to combine. It may not fully combine until liquid is added. Add coconut milk or liquid sweetener (if desired) half a tablespoon at a time. I used coconut milk and thought they were just sweet enough, but if you like things on the sweeter side feel free to replace the coconut milk with honey, agave, or maple syrup. Pulse. You will know the consistency is right when the dough combines into a ball in the middle of the food processor.

If dough is too runny add a tablespoon or more of cocoa powder to bring it back to a dough like state.

Transfer dough to a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Cold dough is much easier to work with. I left my dough in the fridge overnight. You could put it in the freezer if you need to speed the process up.

Once dough is cold, put the coconut crumbs from earlier into a shallow bowl. Scoop out heaping tablespoons of dough and roll them between your hands to form balls. Roll balls in coconut crumbs, pressing the crumbs gently into the ball. Set the balls on a tray. Continue until all of the dough is gone. You can moisten your hands with water if the dough begins to stick to your palms as you roll.

Keep these chilled, they taste best that way. Bites will keep in the fridge for quite some time, and freeze well also.

Recipe adapted from Averie Cooks. Recipe makes 12 – one inch balls.