KITCHEN CURATIONS: CHOCOLATE CHERRY ENERGY BITES

I'll be honest with you – my initial intention today was to make my carrot cake energy bites because I have an entire bag of carrots sitting in my fridge that I am desperate to use. But when I went into my pantry, I realized I was totally out of dates. Such a bummer! So I went to plan B and found some dried cherries, which I happen to LOVE. If you haven't tried them, you should, and when you do, you should make these chocolate cherry energy bites because they are DELISH! The sweet tartness of the cherries complements the bitterness of the dark chocolate; and the creaminess of the almond butter is the perfect backdrop for the crunch of the slivered almonds. Try it out for yourself...you can thank me later ;)

INGREDIENTS: (makes 20 energy bites)

• 2/3 cup dark chocolate chips (I used Enjoy Life)
• 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk (I used Califia Farms)
• 1 cup rolled oats (I used Bobs Red Mill)
• 1/2 cup coconut flour
• 1/3 cup natural almond butter
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup dried unsweetened cherries
• 1/3 cup unsweetened coconut flakes + extra to coat
• 1/3 cup slivered raw almonds

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a microwave-safe bowl, combine chocolate chips with 1/4 cup almond milk. (Reserve the rest of the milk for later). Microwave for 45 seconds and mix.
2. Place melted chocolate and rest of ingredients (except for remaining almond milk) into Vitamix, or high speed blender. Blend until mixture as formed a moist paste.
3. Add remaining 1/4 cup of almond milk, as needed.
4. Form into balls.
5. Place coconut flakes on a plate and roll balls in flakes to coat. If the balls are not sticky enough, dip them in almond milk before rolling in coconut.
6. Freeze for 2-4 hours to set. To preserve freshness, keep frozen, but move to fridge before serving to allow balls to thaw slightly.

A note about this recipe: To melt the chocolate, you can also use a double boiler over the stove top.

FYI: these bites are vegan, soy free, gluten free, and have zero added sugars :)