Healthy & Homemade Donut Holes! {Gluten-Free, Paleo, Vegan}

 “These satisfy my sweet tooth without eating Little Debbie Donut Bites!”

“These won’t make it home!”

And finally, “So, there’s no sugar in these?”

These were just a few of the comments made by a donut-loving friend last night as he was enjoying a new treat I prepared for our church small group that we host each Tuesday.

I had never made them before, so I didn’t know what to expect. They were a huge hit, so you can bet I will be making them again, given the response! I never thought they would be compared to donut holes in terms of taste and texture, but I’ll take it!

They are SO easy to make, too. They’ll become a new staple in your house, I’m sure!

Healthy & Homemade “Donut” Holes

Mmm delicious!

The recipe is adapted from this one on the Nourishing Meals blog. Tom and Ali have some awesome gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free recipes, so I will be featuring more of them in the future.

Ingredients (see notes below regarding substitutions & where to find ingredients*)

• 1/2 cup raw almonds
• 1/2 cup raw walnuts
• 1 cup Medjool dates, pitted
• 1/4 cup raisins
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
  
• 1/4 cup raw almond butter
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
• unsweetened, shredded organic coconut

Directions

1. In the food processor fitted with the “s” blade, grind the almonds and walnuts until finely ground.
2. Add the dates, raisins, spices, and salt and grind to a fine meal.
3. Add the almond butter and vanilla extract and process again until completely mixed.
4. Form into balls and roll in shredded coconut.

I put mine in the fridge for about an hour, so they would firm up a little bit, but you can enjoy them right away, if you’d like!

Ground “meal” prior to rolling them into balls

*Ingredient & Substitution Notes

• Can’t have walnuts or almonds? Use any other nuts or seeds in this recipe instead!
• You find Medjool dates in the produce section of the grocery store OR online. We buy ours at BJs Wholesale club in a big container. Trader Joe’s also sells them.
• If you don’t have cardamom, you can sub in ground ginger, more cinnamon or a combo of nutmeg and cinnamon instead.
• The cheapest place I have found almond butter is at Trader Joe’s. If you can’t have almonds, sub in Sunbutter.
• You can find unsweetened, shredded coconut in the baking aisle of most grocery stores or online here. We buy ours at MOMs in bulk.