By Lindsay Pleskot  (lindsaypleskot.com)

The secret is... cashews?

I have never made energy balls with cashews before, and I seriously could not get over the texture of these once they were all blended up!! They are so creamy, and seriously taste just like salted caramel!

One thing to note when you are making these is that they will be quite oily, this is just the natural (and healthy!) fats coming out of the nuts as they are blended. Other balls that I have made in the past like these Lemon Coconut, Chocolate Peanut Butter or Pumpkin Pie have included additional ingredients like oats that soak up more of the excess liquids- neither is better than another, they are just different, but for these ones I really wanted to keep the caramel-like texture so kept them simple. Just a warning that you may end up with some extra oil in the bottom of your bowl and that is totally normal!

Mix it up!

You can eat them just as is or play around with rolling them in different toppings. I ended up going with my favorites- coconut and raw cacao powder but I think they’d also be really good with some chopped pistachios or toasted pecans.

I’ve been carrying these around in my purse all week and they are the perfect pick me up for a mid-morning snack or a little something sweet after dinner.

Salted Caramel Energy Balls

Makes 18 balls
Ingredients:

• 1 cup cashews, raw
• ½ cup almonds, raw
• 9 Medjool Dates, pitted ( I used Natural Delights)
• Splash of vanilla (approx ½ tsp)
• Sprinkle of coarse salt to taste
• Optional- coconut and raw cacao or cocoa powder

Directions

1. In a Vitamix or high powered blender, combine all ingredients and blend on high. If you are using a Vitamix, use your wand as you blend to keep ingredients moving. Alternatively if you are using a food processor or other blender, you will need to stop as you go and use a spatula to push down the sides of your mixture.
2. Keep blending until ingredients form a smooth paste (tip, if you’re having troubles getting ingredients to fully blend, add 1 Tbsp of warm water at a time until desired consistency is achieved (you want it to be quite thick so you can roll into balls).
3. Use your hands to form into 18 evenly sized balls (Note: Mixture will be a bit oily, this is normal, it is just those healthy fats from the nuts releasing :) )
4. Add an extra sprinkle of sea salt and roll in coconut and raw cacao powder if desired.