Holiday Chocolate Balls

Chocolate Peanut Pulp Balls

I get questions all the time about how to use pulp leftover from juicing. I’ll bet you never thought about adding it to desserts like Beet Brownies (Sugar Knockout)  and Chocolate Balls that I feature here that are made with carrot pulp. Why not?  My friend Vicki Chelf gave me several of her scrumptious desserts for my book Sugar Knockout that she developed for her book Pulp Kitchen.

Chocolate Peanut Pulp Balls

Vicki said, “I was truly amazed at how good these chocolate balls are, and no one would know they contain carrot pulp unless you tell them!” In a Vitamix blender, they are really easy to make.

A food processor will work, but you will have to work a little harder to get the mixture ground up.

• 1 cup carrot pulp or finely grated carrots
• 1 cup soft medjool dates (about 14)
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 3/4 cup crunchy peanut butter
• 1/2 cup dry unsweetened shredded coconut or ground peanuts

Place pulp in a large bowl.

Place dates, cocoa powder, and peanut butter in a Vitamix blender or food processor. An ordinary blender will not work. Blend until relatively smooth using the Vitamix plunger to help you along. In a food processor you will have to stop the machine occasionally and scrape the sides with a rubber spatula to get it blended properly.

Add blended mixture to the bowl with the pulp and knead it together, using your hands. Roll the mixture into balls, slightly smaller than walnuts.

Place unsweetened coconut or ground peanuts in a small bowl. Roll the balls in the coconut or peanut mixture. Store in the refrigerator or freezer.

Makes approximately 26 balls.

Variation:

Substitute almond butter with 1/2 teaspoon of almond extract for the peanut butter, and roll the balls in ground almonds, either raw or toasted.