Rum balls (without the rum!)

I know, I know. Christmas is over. It took me a while to figure out how to use Blogger (and truth be told, I’m still pretty confused). But who knows? Maybe some visiting aliens will be so taken by this Christmas thing, they'll burn a couple of Christmas tree-shaped crop circles in Nebraska, before abducting the farmers as gifts for their children. Back home, after a perilous journey in which they narrowly avoided an exploding star or two, they'll gather around a crater eating freeze-dried turkey ... and RUM BALLS they forced the poor farmers to make following OUR RECIPE. So there you go.

In any case, these rum balls (without the rum haha) can be made (and eaten!) at any time. Best of all, they are super easy to make – you just drop the ingredients into the food processor and watch the blades churn around like a concrete mixer – so my dad and I didn’t drive each other crazy.

All the ingredients are raw, vegan and organic and it’s best to use a food processor, unless you feel like going all medieval and grinding them by hand but I don’t recommend it. You might be done by the next century. So. Process 1 cup of cashews for about 30 seconds, then add ½ cup of cold pressed macadamia oil and ½ cup of honey and mix until combined.

Next add the rest of the ingredients into the food processor: 1 cup of cacao powder; 1 cup of carob powder; ¼ cup of hemp seed meal; and 2 tablespoons of Loving Earth Coconut-Cacao Spread and mix. I am seriously addicted to all the Loving Earth products, especially the crunchy mint chocolate, and I don’t have to feel guilty (well, morally anyway) because the cacao is certified organic and fair-trade. The chocolate gives the balls a smooth flavour, while the hemp, from Gulaga Gallery in Central Tilba, adds a little nuttiness.

After you have mixed that until it is a thick paste (and my dad says if you follow his EXACT proportions, the paste should be the perfect consistency), now comes the fun part! In the palms of your hands, roll the paste into small balls (just pretend you're playing with Play Dough), and then roll them in the desiccated coconut.

You can also add spices like vanilla, cinnamon or nutmeg, or even ground bush wattle seed for an Australian flavour. To make them into a true super food, add 2 tablespoons of powdered spirulina. After you have them all lined up looking like gorgeous snowballs ready to pelt at someone, stick them in the freezer for a couple of hours to set.

Our rum balls would have been quite happy to snooze in the freezer for a while longer (they like the cold) but it was time for their photo shoot. We arranged most of them on a white plate and the rest in some rather festive-looking Christmas gift boxes (as we did make them to be gifts). We added some red paper but then realised we didn’t have a background so I grabbed a white pillowcase out of the cupboard.

I felt a little rummy (ha, get it!) photographing the rum balls, sprinkling a bit of coconut here and there, plumping them up, yelling, work it, baby, work it! However, they didn’t really respond and just kind of sat there, although when we bumped the plate accidentally, one made a break for freedom and rolled off the table. The dog wound up eating it though, so that wasn’t very smart.

Selamat makan!