Donut holes heaven

My in-laws came today to spend the weekend with us.

I went to Trader Joe's yesterday and was still trying to decide what dessert should I make for them, when I saw dry pineapple on the very bottom shelf by the dry fruits and nuts and I new right away - Donut holes by Ani Phyio.

These are good!

Insanely good!

Super easy to make and much healthier than the gluten-full, sugar-loaded namesake.

The recipe is from the fabulous Ani Phyio's book Ani's Raw Food Kitchen. I adore this book. It is filled with tips and trick on eating and living healthy and sustainable. A friend of mine wanted me to get her a book on raw food. There are so many available but I chose this one because it really is a great book for someone who is new to this way of eating. The tone of the book, the layout, the recipes are so thoughtfully chosen and very inspirational.

The pretty ingredients:

The mixture:

The final result:

The recipe:

Dreaming About Donut Holes 
by Ani Phyio

1 3/4 cups almonds
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 vanilla bean, scraped
2 cups dried pineapple, soaked until soft, chopped
2 cups pitted dates
1/3 cup plus 1/4 cup shredded coconut

In a food processor place almonds, salt and vanilla. Process into a fine powder first. Slowly add chopped pineapple and dates, mix well. Place in a large bowl. Mix in 1/3 cup shredded coconut.

To serve, use an ice cream scooper or spoon to form into donut holes. Roll holes in 1/4 cup shredded coconut.

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I just used my hands instead of an ice cream scooper to form the donut holes. The mixture needs to be pressed well into a ball to stick together. The dry pineapple is unbelievably good in this recipe. I love the fact that there is no added sweetener besides the dry fruits. You can't go more natural than this. The quantity of the recipe yielded about 36 super yummy donut holes. They keep well for over a week in the fridge but they never make it to day three at our house.