Almond and coconut balls - Ferrero Raffaello style!

I used to absolutely love those little balls of pleasure, Ferrero Raffaello!  So moreish though - it was always hard to stop at one.  Well, who am I kidding?  I never stopped at one!

Until, of course, I was diagnosed Coeliac, and sadly these delightful little treats moved across to the 'no go' list, which my hips were probably relieved about, but I did miss them!

So when deciding this year what I was going to make for the various Christmas related gatherings and presents, the flavour of the Raffaello popped into my mouth, as did the thought of pretty little 'snowballs' gracing the top of my Christmas cake and being placed in little packages for kinder teacher presents!  I took to work in an attempt to replicate the flavours of the Raffaello, but home style, and of course gluten free! (they could be dairy free too with a few ingredient changes as noted in the recipe below)

A tasty way of decorating your Christmas cake (try my Kahlua version!)

These are nice and easy, the kids can get involved in the chocolate coating and coconut rolling (although the yield may go down considerably!), and you'll be sure to impress taking these to any festive function.



You will need some kind of high speed processor to turn the shredded coconut into a paste.  I obviously use my Thermomix however I am sure food processors (particularly smaller ones) would work just as well.  This is probably the most tedious part of the recipe but believe me, the results are worth it!

As an aside, have a look at the ingredient list below for Raffaellos, and then compare to the ingredients in my recipe below.  Nice to think of the good quality natural ingredients you'll be passing onto your loved ones!
Oh and I found I could use minimal sugar (40g rapadura divided into 30 balls - you do the math!) as the almonds and coconut bring a natural sweetness of their own, and of course the white chocolate adds a fine coating of sweetness to each mouthful, making them perfect to have with a coffee, or even a nice sweet digestif!

Enjoy......

Ingredients: Desiccated Coconut (23.5%), Sugar, Vegetable Oil, Skim Milk Powder, Vegetable Fats, Whole Almond (8%), Wheat Flour, Whey Powder, Flavourings, Emulsifier (Soy Lecithin), Rye Flour, Raising Agent (Sodium Bicarbonate), Salt.

Almond Coconut balls - Snowballs (makes approx 30)

Ingredients

200g organic shredded coconut (I used macro brand)
40g rapadura sugar (coconut sugar or brown sugar could also be used)
1 tbs organic coconut oil
65g raw almonds (or almond meal if not using a Thermomix)
60ml cream (use coconut cream for dairy free version)
250g good quality white chocolate (use dairy free chocolate if required)

Method - Conventional 

1. Place 150g of the shredded coconut and sugar in the food processor.  Process to a paste.  This will take a bit of stop/starting and scraping down the sides but hang in there, the oils will release from the coconut and it will happen!
2. Add the almond meal, coconut oil and cream and process again, scraping the sides until thoroughly combined.
3. Place mixture in fridge for 30 minutes or until firm.
4. Meanwhile, place remaining 50g coconut into a bowl.  Set aside.
5. Melt the chocolate according to directions on pack.
6. To assemble, roll mixture into small balls, approximately the width of a 10 cent piece.  Dip into melted chocolate (I coated them using two spoons) using just enough for an even coating then roll and coat in the shredded coconut.  Set aside and repeat until all balls are coated.
7. Store in fridge but leave out of the fridge for 10-15 minutes before serving.

Method - Thermomix

1.  Place 150g of the shredded coconut, coconut oil and sugar into the TM bowl.  Blend on speed 5-6 until a paste forms.  This will take a bit of stop/starting - when you hear the blades no longer hitting the mixture scrape down the bowl and start again.  Be patient though - it does happen!
2. Add the almonds and process for a further 20 seconds on speed 7.
3. Add the cream and process for a further 20 seconds on speed 6 until well combined and relatively smooth.
4. Scrape the mixture into a bowl and place in the fridge for approximately 30 minutes or until firm.
5. Follow steps 4-7 above.