Chocolate-Almond Nuggets of Joy

Ingredients

• 24  almonds raw
• 1 tablespoon cocoa powder 
• 1 tablespoon powdered sugar 
• 1 cup medjool dates dried ( 16 prunes)
• 0.3 cups bittersweet chocolate (dairy-free kind)
• 0.8 cup coconut shredded unsweetened sweetened flaked

Equipment

• food processor
• plastic wrap
• microwave
• pastry bag

Directions

1. Put the prunes or dates, coconut, and 1 1/2 teaspoons cocoa powder into the food processor and blend until you have a sticky blob. Divide the blob and process again briefly to make sure that ingredients are well-distributed. If the mixture doesn’t seem sticky enough, you can add more prunes or dates (but prunes should already be very sticky). Scrape the blob out onto a plate, cover with plastic wrap, and flatten it till it’s about 1-inch thick. Keep it covered and refrigerate for about 15 minutes.
2. Mix the confectioners’ sugar and the tablespoon of cocoa powder on a dinner plate. Scoop out a heaping teaspoon of the coconut mixture, form into an oval shape, press an almond into the middle, and cover it with coconut mixture.
3. Roll each nugget (or as many as you want) in cocoa/confectioners’ sugar, and place on a plate. Repeat about 23 times. You can serve them immediately or add a chocolate squiggle.
4. Place the nuggets into the freezer for a few minutes while you gently heat the chocolate chips (I used a microwave). As soon as the chips are just barely melted, scrape the chocolate into a pastry bag fitted with a small round tip. Pipe chocolate onto each nugget. Nuggets keep well covered at room temperature for about 2 days. Refrigerate if you need to keep them longer.