Chocolate-Covered Katie's Fudge Babies

I've been wanting a paleo treat that doesn't need a lot of time to prepare (i.e. no baking), and I finally stumbled across these fudge babies by Chocolate-Covered Katie.

Now, for the longest time, I've avoided making anything with dates. Why? Because we don't have a food processor, and almost all the recipes I've found require the use of it for the dates. But I've had a pack of dates sitting in the fridge for some weeks now, so I thought the fudge babies would be a good recipe to use it in.

I have to say that they were perfect. I think I need to buy dates regularly now. Here's the slightly modified recipe that I followed:


Fudge Balls

1 cup walnuts
1 1/3 cups pitted dates
1/4 tsp salt
4 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa

1. Chop walnuts very finely, then set aside.
2. Place dates in a shallow dish and sprinkle with some water (about 1 to 2 Tbsp). Microwave on a low setting for about a minute, mash with a fork and sprinkle with more water if needed, then microwave again for about 2 minutes and mash very well using a fork. Transfer to a mixing bowl.
3. Add cocoa, walnuts, and salt to the mashed dates. Use your hands to mix everything together very well, and when everything's mixed, form into 1 to 1.5" balls. Be warned: the mixture will be very sticky but it's so gonna be worth it. Trust me.

I almost wasn't able to take this photo because I couldn't help
eating them all!