Festive Roasted Almond + Orange Spiced Energy Balls

Makes approx 18

Ingredients:

300g pitted dates

135g almonds

1tbsp carob powder

juice 1/2 small orange

1tbsp orange zest

3 cardamom pods

Heat the oven to around 150 degrees C, whizz up the almonds in a blender until blitzed into chunks around 1/4 - 1/2 almonds size. You still want a bit of texture to the energy balls. Roast the almonds until browned slightly and you can smell the aroma. Leave to cool.

Deseed the cardamom pods and grind the seeds in a pestle +mortar.

Put the dates in a blender until they almost come together in a ball, then add all other ingredients, saving a few almonds to grind up for dusting the outside.

Whizz until well mixed then divide into balls around 30g. Press into ground almond dust to give them a snowy look.