Ok, so I’m a little obsessed with Larabars. I have about 5 boxes in my pantry at the moment. God forbid I run out!! Seriously, they keep me sane on this Paleo diet. I wanted to come up with a homemade variation of my own, these snacks get expensive. I played around with this Coconut Almond Laraballs recipe quite a bit until the flavor and texture were just right, ending up with a delicious coconut ball that is just like my beloved bars.

They are incredibly moist, full of flavor and have a slight crunch from the chopped nuts. They key in making them is to be careful not to over process, so you are left with small bits of almonds to give that great contrast in texture.

Don’t skip out on the orange zest. It’s not enough to be overpowering, but enough to add great flavor. I use a microplane zester to grate the nutmeg and orange. The finer shreds work great to evenly distribute the flavor.

Coconut Almond Laraballs

Ingredients:
1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
3/4 cup whole, raw almonds (with the skin on)
3 tsp melted virgin coconut oil
2 tbsp roasted almond butter
2 tbsp coconut cream
2 tbsp unsweetened almond milk
1 1/2 cups pitted dates
1 tsp real vanilla extract
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp sea salt
dash freshly grated nutmeg *just a dash, nutmeg can be overpowering
zest of 1 small orange
extra coconut for rolling balls

Put all ingredients into the bowl of a food processor and blend until well mixed, nuts should be in small bits and not finely ground. Add dates and pulse until mixture starts to form a ball and stick together. Dates should be incorporated and mixture should easily roll into a balls.

Roll balls into coconut and refrigerate for at least an hour or overnight. Store in the refrigerator in an airtight container. They are best brought to room temperature before serving.

Coconut Almond Laraballs

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Ingredients

1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
3/4 cup whole, raw almonds (with the skin on)
3 tsp melted virgin coconut oil
2 tbsp roasted almond butter
2 tbsp coconut cream
2 tbsp unsweetened almond milk
1 1/2 cups pitted dates
1 tsp real vanilla extract
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp sea salt
dash freshly grated nutmeg *just a dash, nutmeg can be overpowering
zest of 1 small orange
extra coconut for rolling balls

Directions

Put all ingredients into the bowl of a food processor and blend until well mixed, nuts should be in small bits and not finely ground.
Add dates and pulse until mixture starts to form a ball and stick together.
Dates should be incorporated and mixture should easily roll into a balls.
Roll balls into coconut and refrigerate for at least an hour or overnight.
Store in the refrigerator in an airtight container.

by Amee Livingston