Pumpkin Coconut Raw Balls

In the past two weeks it's been all pizza and now, all pumpkin. (Ooh. The most natural hybrid? A pizza with a pumpkin-based sauce instead of tomato. Stay tuned.) It's pumpkin everything everywhere all the time this month. I've even partnered up, albeit informally, with Marci from Vegging at the Shore, who's sharing this Pumpkin Chipotle Vegetable Enchiladas recipe with us here.) Jump on the bandwagon; there's lots of room here. 

I had some lovely friends over for lunch last week and whipped up my classic cacao almond butter raw ball recipe. My kids devoured what was left over, which got me thinking about spinning off a pumpkin pie treatment, sans the sugar and crust and whipped cream. Plus coconut. Because.  

Pumpkin Coconut Raw Balls.

Some cafes I know of typically form their versions of vegan raw balls the size of small boulders. I'm into more the bite-sized treats. If you are, too, you'll get about 15 of these. 

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup plus 2-3 T walnuts
• 1/2 cup dates, pitted
• 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
• 2 T. maple syrup
• 1/2 cup rolled oats 
• 1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
• 1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
• Big pinch kosher salt
• 1/4 cup finely shredded unsweetened coconut

Instructions

Line a rimmed 1/4 sheet pan with wax paper and set aside.

In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the blade attachment, combine 1/2 cup of walnuts and the dates. Pulse until they are a rough crumble, as though you might top a pie with them. Add the remaining ingredients and process until combined; the mixture will begin to pull away from the sides of the bowl. 

Finely chop the remaining 2-3 T. of walnuts and combine with the shredded coconut in a small bowl. Using a cookie scoop or teaspoon, scoop out generous teaspoons of dough and roll between the palms into a shape a little bit smaller than a golf ball. Roll the balls in the mix and then place them on the sheet pan. 

These will be more moist than the average raw ball, owing to the pumpkin's presence here. If you want something less moist, cut back to 1/3 cup of pumpkin. Transfer sheet pan to the refrigerator to firm up for several hours. They will still be moist but not as soft. 

These should last for several days in the fridge, covered in a lidded container, but I bet they'll be consumed long before that. 

Pumpkin Coconut Raw Balls: Half rolled in coconut and walnuts, half plain, because half of my family likes coconut, half does not. Can you guess who?