Almond Joy Balls

The last week of school there are always tons of potlucks and gatherings featuring a boatload of some healthy and some very unhealthy food.  Well, one of the parties featured Whit's frozen custard, which, if you have never tried it, is AMAZING.  Not a part of my normal diet, but I do enjoy the occasional ice cream treat from time to time, and I sure as heck enjoyed it at that party.  These balls are an ode to the flavors in Whit's Almond Joy frozen custard.  They are EXACTLY what I was going for when I set out to recreate all of the flavors in that ice cream.  No, they do not taste like ice cream, but they do taste like delicious chocolatey, almondy, coconutty heaven.  

Almond Joy Balls

10 soft medjool dates, pitted

2 scoops (28 g) chocolate protein powder (I used organic, grassfed dark chocolate Tera's whey)

1 c almonds

1/2 c unsweetened, shredded coconut

1-2 T unsweetened applesauce

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp coconut extract

Process all ingredients in food processor until ingredients all stick together enough for you to roll it into balls.  You can vary the texture (smooth to chunky) by processing it for a shorter or longer time.  The balls will be fairly sticky when you roll them.  Put them in a freezer safe container and freeze them to store.  They will still be a little gooey straight from the freezer... yum!

TIP: I only buy this Whey when it is on Manager's Special at Kroger, or a stupid good deal at Vitacost.com.  At full price it is super expensive.