Raw Donut Holes

  

A few years back my sister was really into raw food. She was sprouting grains and making raw treats, even raw "Grawnola" as she called it.  She used to make raw cookies. I particularly liked her strawberry ones. They were really delicious. 

The other week she brought me over some of what she called raw donut holes. They were so delicious I had to get the recipe from her so that I could make my own.

 

Not only were they delicious, but they contained no refined sugars and are considered to be vegan. I am not so bothered about that aspect of them, just about the tastiness and natural sugars have to be better for you than refined sugars any day of the week.

I feel that if you are really in need of a bit of a treat, natural, or as natural as possible is the way to go! And these are certainly all natural.

 

They actually do taste a bit like a donut hole with the exception being that they don't get stale the day after!  Donuts are only really tasty on the day that they are made.

Another exception is that they are probably a lot lower in fat and sugars, and  are filled with protein and things which are good for you.  I am pretty sure that they would not be considered to be low carb or keto, or even sugar free as there is plenty of natural sugars in the dates and in the honey/maple syrup. 

 

   

WHAT DO YOU NEED TO MAKE RAW DONUT HOLES

Just about everything needed is a store cupboard ingredient, with just a few out of the ordinary things.

 

For the holes:

• 2 cups (150g)raw unsweetened coconut
• 1 cup (110g) raw cashew nuts
• 12 medjool dates, pitted and chopped in half
• 3 TBS coconut butter (not oil)
• 3 TBS raw honey or maple syrup
• the juice of 1/2 medium orange
• 1 TBS ground cinnamon
• 1 TBS maca powder (optional)

To coat:

• 1 TBS maca powder
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon

  

So what is Maca Powder?  I was a bit flummoxed by this ingredient myself and this is what I found out. 

Maca is a tuber which is native to Peru which has become extremely popular over the past few years. Maca powder is made from the plants roots which are dried and then ground (much like ginger.) 

Once dried it is then added to recipes to boost their nutritional value and enhance the flavor.  We buy ours at Bulk Barn, but I am sure you can also buy it online from a variety of sources including Amazon. 

 

It has an earthy nutty flavor that is not always to people's tastes. I suppose in a way like cilantro/coriander leaf.  You either hate it or you love it.  

If you are a hater you can easily substitute it with other things. Some suitable substitutes would be yacon powder, ground butterscotch, ground chia seeds, almond flour. coconut flour, ground coffee, or cocoa powder.

Of course this all depends on what you are using it in. In this case here today I would use either ground butterscotch, almond flour or coconut flour. 

 

Because this is a raw recipe it is essential that all of your ingredients should be raw and un toasted or roasted.  Also unsweetened, as in the coconut. Use only raw, unsweetened shredded coconut and cashews.

You may be wondering what the difference is between coconut butter and coconut oil.  They are not the same thing at all and it is essential you use coconut butter in these not coconut oil. 

Coconut oil is made entirely of fat, mostly saturated. One tablespoon has around 14 grams. Coconut butter is made from the whole coconut, so it also contains saturated fat, around 10 grams per tablespoon. 

It also has nutrients coconut oil doesn't, in particular,  fiber. You cannot really substitute one for the other.

 

HOW DO YOU MAKE RAW DONUT HOLES

These are not really all that difficult to make. You will need a good strong food processor to grind everything up in.

It is also important that you pulse everything rather than just drop it all in and start grinding away. You might risk burning out your motor by running it for too long.

 

I just measured all of the ingredients for the holes into my food processor and pulsed it until everything was the consistency I wanted it to be. If you think it is too thick you can add a bit more orange juice.  I used freshly squeezed orange juice.

I also cut the dates into quarters before I added them. Dates are quite sticky so they can gum things up. As it was I could have probably processed the mixture a bit more.  But I was being a bit impatient. 

 

In my sisters you could not tell one ingredient from the other. Everything was very finely ground. I also only have a very small food processor that only holds about 3 cups max so I was really worried about burning out the motor.

I have done that in the past with food processors and am not wanting to risk it again. Having said that even though these were not quite as smooth as hers, they were very good.

 

Once the mixture is ground you can roll it into balls and then roll the balls in a mixture of maca powder and cinnamon to coat.

I used my cookie scoop to scoop out balls and then just rolled the balls between my palms.  This ensured that the balls were all pretty much the same size. 

 

These reminded me very much of the Sugar Plums that I used to make before Christmas for my Christmas cookie platter. 

Always very popular, they use dates, dried cranberries, walnuts, hazelnuts, prunes, jam and spices.  They are made in a very similar way, but rolled in granulated sugar.

Like these  Raw Donut Holes, they keep for weeks in the refrigerator.

 

So there you have it, Raw Donut Holes. Not quite like a real donut hole, but every bit as satisfying. Well, I thought so at any rate.

I hope you will be inspired to give them a go! It will soon be so hot we won't be wanting to use our ovens and heat up our kitchens. These would be a really nice sweet treat for then!

Raw Donut Holes

Yield: Makes about 2 dozen

Author: Marie Rayner

These are very easy to make and incredibly moreish. You will need a good food processor.

Ingredients

For the holes:

• 2 cups (150g)raw unsweetened coconut
• 1 cup (110g) raw cashew nuts
• 12 medjool dates, pitted and chopped in half
• 3 TBS coconut butter (not oil)
• 3 TBS raw honey or maple syrup
• the juice of 1/2 medium orange
• 1 TBS ground cinnamon
• 1 TBS maca powder (optional)

To coat:

• 1 TBS maca powder
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon

Instructions

1. Combine all of the ingredients for the donut holes in a food processor with a strong motor. Blitz, pulsing, until the mixture forms a dough.
2. Mix the coating ingredients together in a bowl.
3. Using a cookie scoop scoop out portions of the dough and roll into balls. Roll them in the cinnamon coating mixture.
4. Place in an airtight container and chill for an hour or so. These are delicious!

This content (written and photography) is the sole property of The English Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at: mariealicejoan at aol dot com 

Thanks so much for visiting. Do come again! 

 Follow my blog with Bloglovin