Better than Cakeballs: Fudge Babies

Lyssa — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 21:46:41 +0000

When I first made these, I got really excited and tweeted about them and posted them to Austin Post and said they were amazing.

I now feel compelled to issue a disclaimer. But I’ll let you enjoy my excitement first … if you just want the disclaimer, scroll to the bottom.

I first stumbled upon these Fudge Babies on Chocolate-Covered Katie. She went on and on about them and how much everyone loves them and how easy to make they are and sinless … and I was kind of like, oh, shut up. But as the world turns, I am now going to turn around and do the same.

These little balls of heaven are EASY and HEALTHY* and AMAZINGLY DELICIOUS.

4 ingredients: walnuts (1 c.), dates (1 1/3 c.), cocoa (4T), vanilla (1t).

1 utensil: food processor, blender, magic bullet, whatever

result: divine

Takes under ten minutes to prepare from start to finish. Pull everything out of the pantry, blend, roll into balls. Done.

These things taste like fudge. They’re rich and satisfying. Amazing!

My roommate/brother is subject to all my baking experiments and tried one and said, “good.” He chewed for a minute more and said, “Not as good as cakeballs, but better than the other stuff you make.”

No, bro, these are BETTER than cakeballs because while cakeballs have all sorts of poisonous things in them (white flour, sugar, preservatives, things I can’t pronounce, icing with more of the same, coating with even more of the same, reese’s on top with MORE of the same … you get the idea), these have FOUR things in them. FOUR things found in nature (is vanilla extract found in nature?), FOUR things Grok could have eaten, FOUR things that make your body happy and clean (while potentially raising your blood sugar).

I digress. I think these are the PERFECT solution to holiday dessert woes–just serve ‘em up with all the other desserts and see if anyone can even tell they’re different. I mean, they’ll obviously KNOW they’re different, but I don’t think anyone would consider these “weird health food.”

And hit up Chocolate-Covered Katie for variations … or sub in any combo of nuts and other fun raw ingredients!

*Let’s talk date nutrition: they’re kind of calorie and carb bombs, as you’d expect from a sweetener: http://www.nutritiondata.com/facts/fruits-and-fruit-juices/7348/2. While they are the Paleo-est of sweeteners, I’m not sure I’d call them HEALTHY, like zucchini or lean beef. Dates have a Glycemic Index of 103 and Glycemic Load of 42, making them pretty hard on your blood sugar. BUT if you’re going to have something sweet (and sometimes you just HAVE TO), this is one of the best ways to go.

DISCLAIMER: Throughout the day, I managed to polish off THE ENTIRE RECIPE.My brother had that one. But other than that, I ate A CUP OF WALNUTS AND 1 1/3 CUP OF DATES. Sure, it was throughout the day, not in one sitting, but this was a poor choice. Not only because I probably ate somewhere in the range of 200 grams of fat (nobody ever said Paleo-ers shy away from fat) and a bajillion glycemic-load-worth of dates, but because at its core Paleo is about listening to your body, which means eating when you’re hungry and stopping when you’re full. I kind of doubt there’s any way I could have been hungry after the first nine Fudge Babies.

By the end, they didn’t even taste like Fudge Babies anymore. They tasted like walnuts and dates and cocoa powder all blended up.

Bottom line: don’t let this happen to you. Keep the Fudge Baby allure alive by NOT EATING THE WHOLE BATCH.

.. at least it wasn’t an entire batch of cookies (flour, sugar, butter, chocolate chips), right?

The Label Says Paleo » cakeballs

Better than Cakeballs: Fudge Babies