Vegan Snack Bites

We’re traveling this week with our daughter – a road trip for us, meeting her in Vienna and then off to a few spots in Germany.  The last time Lisa was in this part of the world, she was vegetarian, and I know that presented some challenges.  Now, she is vegan.  We’re visiting some large cities, so I’m hoping we can find some vegan restaurants because a girl needs more than salads and french fries.

To add some fun and variety, I’ve made some vegan treats for our trip.  As I googled vegan snack travel, I found Oh She Glows, a great food blog featuring vegan recipes.  The author is working on a cookbook which I can’t wait to buy for Lisa.

Adapted from Oh She Glows

Ingredients

1 cup almonds
1 cup dates, pitted
1/2 cup dried sweetened cherries or cranberries
50 g dark chocolate, chopped (no chocolate chips in Poland) just under 1/4 cup
1/4 cup pecans or walnuts
pinch salt
toasted sesame seeds, desiccated coconut, or additional finely chopped nuts

Directions

• Finely chop the almonds in a food processor.  (I used the mini processor attachment for my immersion blender which meant as ingredients were added I had to divide the dough into four batches.  If I had a large, powerful food processor, I would be making these on a regualar basis!)
• Set aside 1/3 cup of the chopped almonds
• The only dates I could find were a little dry, so I covered them in boiling water for 5 minutes, drained, and then added to the processor.  Probably because my processor and motor are small, I had trouble getting this mixed, so I added a few teaspoons of the date water to help it blend
• Add the cherries or cranberries and process
• Add the chocolate, pecans or walnuts, and salt, process
• Stir in the reserved
• Roll into balls about an inch in diameter
• Roll in sesame seeds, coconut, or nuts
• Refrigerate or freeze until ready to use

Note: to toast the sesame seeds, put them in a large frying pan over medium-high heat, stirring constantly. Cook for a few minutes, until they begin to take on a little color

These are on their way to the freezer.  Otherwise, they would have been eaten long before our trip.