If you had a go at making Tiger Nut Horchata last week, you might be thinking that despite the tiger nut pulp leftovers (I just feel guilty for throwing it away), horchata is such a delicious, healthy drink it deserves to be a ‘keeper’. If so, today’s recipe for Chocolate Tiger Nut Stollen Bites answers the need for thrift by transforming tiger nut pulp into a superfood energy bite that’s as enticing as tiger nut milk itself.
On the other hand, if you haven’t yet tried homemade horchata, this week’s recipe might just be the means to an end…
Chocolate Tiger Nut Stollen Bites are simply yummy - chocolatey, fudgy, fruity and nutty all at the same time - but they won’t cause your blood sugar levels to spike. A really healthy option when you’re craving something sweet, these chocolate-coated balls of fibre-rich goodness are packed full of vitamins, minerals and protein and are perfect to enjoy anytime you feel the need for an energy-boosting snack. I find them seriously addictive with my favourite morning Nespresso, so the next time I make a batch of Tiger Nut Horchata, I’ll be using up all the residual tiger nut pulp in one go and doubling up the recipe below for these irresistible, no-added sugar sweeties!
They’re also dainty and elegant enough to serve as after-dinner petits fours.
Chocolate Tiger Nut Stollen Bites (Makes 32 ‘bites’)
Ingredients
50g whole almonds
50g pecans
100g tiger nut pulp (left over from making horchata)
100g (about 6-8) Medjool dates, with stones removed
50g organic Goji berries
30g coconut butter
¼ tsp sea salt
For chocolate coating (optional)
75g chocolate chips, melted
Extra Goji berries, for decoration (optional)
Instructions
Put half the almonds and pecans into a food processor and pulse together until they are coarsely chopped into small pieces (the texture should be slightly coarse with some bigger pieces, to add ‘bite’ to the final mixture). Tip the chopped nuts out into a bowl and set aside.
Add the remaining almonds and pecans to the bowl of the food processor and whizz until very finely chopped. Add the tiger nut pulp and whizz some more until everything is well combined.
Add the pitted dates to the mixture and whizz again until the mixture becomes sticky and starts to form a dough.
Add the Goji berries and coconut butter and process again until well incorporated. Keep whizzing until you have a thick smooth paste (the texture of almond paste/marzipan).
Add the chocolate chips, sea salt and the reserved chopped nuts and pulse (minimally) several times to ensure that the chocolate and nuts are evenly distributed throughout the mix whilst still retaining their texture.
Roll the mixture into small balls between the palms of your hands (10g per ‘bite’ is just the right amount) and store in the refrigerator.
For chocolate coating, melt 75g of chocolate chips in a heatproof bowl set over a barely simmering pan of hot water (do not allow the bottom of the bowl to touch the surface of the water).
When the chocolate is melted, stir with a metal spoon until it is smooth and glossy then remove from the heat.
Using a couple of teaspoons to help you, carefully drop the tiger nut stollen balls one at a time into the melted chocolate and turn them over and around until evenly coated. Allow any excess chocolate to drip back into the bowl before placing each coated bite onto a baking tray lined with waxed paper. Leave alone until completely set. Decorate each with a single Goji berry, if liked.
Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week - though they’re highly unlikely to last that long!
Notes:
You don’t have to cover Chocolate Tiger Nut Stollen Bites in melted chocolate but I think the chocolatey-taste-hit and ‘snap’ of the cold chocolate shell surrounding a soft, fudgy centre makes for a decidedly more decadent experience.
Dark chocolate can develop a whitish-grey ‘bloom’ on its surface when kept in the fridge. Although blooming may make the chocolate look less appetising it is still perfectly safe to eat. I deliberately didn’t ask Sarah at Mirror Imaging to photograph my tiger nut stollen bites until they were four days old and, as you can see, they look fine - not as glossy as chocolate kept at room temperature but still looking good.
I coined the name ‘Stollen’ (a traditional German Christmas cake) for these little bites because that’s what their taste and texture remind me of, though I didn’t want to wait for next Christmas to share the recipe! When the time is right, a dash of ground cinnamon added to the mix would certainly make for a distinctly Christmassy treat.
The Goji berry is a nutritionally rich, dried red fruit from Tibet, Quinghai Province that is packed full of minerals, including zinc, calcium, selenium and iron. Goji Berries contain more than 11% protein, including 18 amino acids and all 8 of the essential amino acids. They’re also very rich in beta-carotene and supply up to 500 times more vitamin C than oranges!
Carbohydrate 7g Protein 1g - per bite
