Paleo Treats!!

The one thing I have a hard time doing without on a Paleo diet is a sweet treat every now and then. I'm no longer in the habit of eating chocolate every day (DOH!) but I'd be lying if I claimed I was above needing a dessert every once in a while. I have seen a few different recipes circling the web as of late for this type of treat. I based my recipe off of one I found at www.crossfitkopnutrition.blogspot.com and changed it to the following:

*13-14 medjool dates
1.5 cups raw walnuts
4 Tablespoons raw cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup unsweetened coconut
**6 dried figs

*Get the ones with pits and remove the pits yourself. I found that the pitted dates are too dry and end up blending into a powder instead of sticking together. The dates you buy should be a tad squishy.
**I like the figs because they add a little extra bite to the treats, but they aren't necessary

Remove the pits from the dates and drop them into a food processor. Add the rest of the ingredients and blend until it all comes together. The walnuts will be ground up pretty fine. (Be sure not to overmix this though. If you let is blend for too long, the oils will start to release from the nuts and you will have a lot of oil in your hand when you try to roll them into balls. Watch the mixture and let it blend just until it begins to come together). Once it is blended up well, remove the blade from the base and form the sweet goodness into balls, about 1-inch in diameter or so. Try to refrain from immediately popping them into your mouth...Once you've formed it all into balls, place them into a tupperware container and into the fridge for a few hours to get cold. They will firm up a bit in the fridge and hold together better. These should be kep refrigerated and are good for about two weeks...if they last that long.