Drawing inspiration from the flavors of Cherry Garcia, these chocolate-cherry date energy balls are a tasty tribute to the Ben & Jerry’s ice cream flavor named after Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead. Packed with chunks of dark chocolate and dried tart cherries, they’re not only delicious but also contain polyphenols, a nutrient found in cherries that can help suppress inflammation.
Ingredients
- 1 cup pitted dried dates
- 1/3 cup packed unsweetened dried tart cherries
- 1/2 cup unsalted unsweetened almond butter
- 1/4 cup whole-milk plain strained (greek-style) yogurt
- 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
- 1 ounce dark chocolate (70%), broken into pieces
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Directions
- Place dates and dried cherries in a small heatproof bowl; cover with boiling water. Let stand until soft, about 10 minutes. Drain well.
- Place the drained dates and cherries in a food processor; pulse until coarsely chopped, about 5 pulses. Add almond butter, yogurt, cocoa, vanilla and salt. Pulse until incorporated, 5 to 10 pulses. Add oats; pulse until fully combined and incorporated, about 15 pulses. (Add 1 tablespoon water if the mixture is too thick and stiff.) Transfer the mixture to a medium bowl. Cover and refrigerate for 10 minutes.
- Spoon about 1 tablespoon of the date mixture onto a sheet of wax paper or parchment paper; roll into a 1-inch ball. Repeat with the remaining date mixture.
- Place chocolate in a small microwave-safe bowl; microwave on High until melted, about 1 minute, stirring after 30 seconds.
- Drizzle the balls with the melted chocolate; sprinkle with cinnamon. Refrigerate, uncovered, until set, at least 10 minutes.