vegan, chocolate, gluten-free, fruit-sweetened, no-bake, snacks, sweet · January 21, 2019

Medjool Date Buckwheat Brownie Crunch Balls

A fudgy brownie ball rolled in crunchy cinnamon toasted buckwheat into the perfect easy bite-sized snack. Vegan, gluten-free, naturally sweetened!

THIS POST IS SPONSORED BY NATURAL DELIGHTS®

Still workshopping that title, but we’ll stick with it for now. If your mind is having trouble breaking it all down, allow me…

A naturally sweetened chocolate brownie ball that falls somewhere in between fudgy brownie and cakey brownie rolled in crunchy buckwheat bits that have been toasted in a combination of cacao, cinnamon, and salt. They are a snack, they are a dessert, they are truly a textural experience to bite into.

Or the short version: no-bake brownie meets chocolate crunch bar but round not rectangle.

Whichever description is doing more for you, you know you gotta try them at this point, right? Not a question.

Medjool Date Buckwheat Brownie Crunch Balls

As seems to be the (unofficial) theme with everything I’ve posted so far this year, these are no-bake and super easy. The ingredient list is looking like:

Medjool dates. I used my favorite Medjools from Natural Delights®, which, as you may have noticed, have gotten a 2019 packaging facelift!
Cacao powder. Or cocoa powder works too.
Coconut flour. This is what gives them the “baked” texture.
Coconut cream. Scooped out of a can of full fat coconut milk. Or substitute with nut/seed butter, but they will be more squishy.
Vanilla extract.
Salt.
Buckwheat. That we’re going to toast to deliciousness in coconut oil, cacao, cinnamon, and salt. Or if you are feeling too lazy for all that, just roll your brownie balls in chopped hazelnuts or hemp seeds or something low key like that – still delicious!

I chose to toast my buckwheat stovetop, but you can do it on a baking sheet in the oven too. Either way it takes less than ten minutes, and those crunchy little cinna-chocolate buckwheat sprinkles are good for more than just brownie balls so save any extras for topping your next smoothie bowl and thank me later.

For the brownie center, you are going to combine everything in a food processor, blitz, scoop, roll, and coat in buckwheat crunchies. Then eat one now because you are chocolate impatient. And refrigerate the rest because the taste and texture is much better chilled. Just trust me.

Now obviously these little balls are simply delicious. Reason number one to love them.

But (completely NOT related to new years/January) I’ve been branching out from my yoga only movement routine lately and getting back into more strength-based workouts. I don’t believe in #newyearnewme, but I do believe when I am feeling bored with one kind of movement it’s time to change it up. So I’ve been going to the gym again for the first time since…college I think, and really enjoying it!

I am a morning workout person and don’t like to eat a full meal before I workout, so little bite-sized energy packed balls like this are just the thing. Medjool dates are high in fruit-based carbs and potassium, so snacks sweetened with only Medjool dates like this are perfect pre or post workout.

Also if getting out of bed when it’s cold to go the gym is sometimes a struggle for you, what better motivation than a scrumptious little Buckwheat Brownie Crunch Ball waiting in the fridge?

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