These little chocolate gems are simple to make and don’t take much time at all. They’re made with just a few ingredients,  all of which I usually have on hand. And they’re perfect to bring to a potluck or serve at school because they’re nut-free. Since I was making a version with kids, I used organic cream cheese (new to me, this is not something I usually have on hand!), but you can substitute it with sunflower butter if you want to make a vegan version. I made these coconut snowballs for a class I did with very young kids. They added the ingredients to the food processor and pushed the buttons – which they found to be really fun! Once the ingredients were processed and chilled, they helped me roll them into balls and coat them with the coconut. I won’t say the rolling them into balls isn’t a bit messy, but it’s worth it to see the looks on the kids’ faces when they make their own treats!

1 cup dates

2/3 cup organic cream cheese or sunflower butter

2/3 cup cocoa powder (my all-time favourite cocoa is Navitas Naturals – it’s raw, has 4 grams of fiber per 2½ tbsp of cocoa powder and is a good source of magnesium and iron)

4 tsp vanilla

pinch of salt

coconut for coating

• soak the dates in some hot water for about 5 minutes to soften them
• let the dates cool slightly, drain and press out any excess liquid
• add the dates to your food processor
• process until smooth
• add the salt and process again
• add the cream cheese or sunflower butter and vanilla and process until everything is well incorporated
• scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula
• add the cocoa and mix through the date/cheese (or sunflower butter) mixture with a spoon to just blend the chocolate in (this helps prevent the cocoa from ‘blasting’ out of the top of the food processor!)
• process everything so that all ingredients are well incorporated
• spoon the mixture into a sealable container and refrigerate for a few hours until firm
• when firm, form into ½ inch balls and roll in a bowl of shredded coconut until fully coated
• refrigerate until ready to serve

makes about 36 snowballs