FUDGE BALLS

I met a woman once who had painted flowers on the fronts of all of her kitchen cupboards. It showed a freedom and creativity in ownership that I had yet to express in my house.

Now, inside my kitchen cupboards, I have written lists and recipes of my go-tos. One of the recipes is for a chocolate energy ball that I call fudge balls, and they rival chocolate macaroons in test and calories, but there is no added sugar.

The recipe often has to be altered for what I have on hand, but the ideal recipe is as follows:

1 cup almonds
1 cup walnuts

Pulse these together first to get them into small bits. (I forget this sometimes, and the chunks never break down quite right after you add the dates, but they still taste great).

2 cups dates (Dalton's work great, but they tend to be very hard, so I warmed them up with water in a saucepan, like you would to make date squares (without the margarine), until they rehydrate and soften a little, and add water in the food processor as well, to the consistency of a firm dough)

1/3 cup cocoa powder (officially scant 1/2 but without coconut to roll in, less is more)

Ideally flaked coconut to roll in, but don't need. Refrigerate to reduce stickiness if without.