Spiced Butternut Squash Dessert Bites
Spiced vegan dessert balls made from butternut squash noodles! Great way to add sneaky veggies to a dessert. Gluten-free and refined sugar-free.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Yield: 7-8 balls
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: Dessert
Ingredients
Noodles:
- ¼ medium butternut squash, thin spirals, roughly chopped
- 1 pinch saffron
- 2 tsp rose water
- 2 tbsp orange juice
- 1 pinch ground turmeric
- seeds of 5 green cardamom pods, finely ground with a mortar and pestle
Dough:
- ¾ cup (107g) almonds (see notes above for nut-free version)
- ½ cup (88g) dates, pitted and packed (I used medjool)
Toppings:
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon, for dusting
Instructions
- Except for the cardamom, place all noodle ingredients in a large bowl. Massage noodles for 30 seconds, then let sit for 2-3 minutes.
- Add the ground cardamom seeds to the noodles.
- Place the almonds and soft dates in a food processor and pulse until crumbly and sticky. Add this mixture to the noodles.
- Using wet hands, combine the noodles with the ingredients in the bowl, then form the mixture into 7-8 balls.
- Arrange balls on a dehydrator mesh tray and dehydrate at 125F (52C) for about 1 hour (I didn't use a mesh sheet for mine as my dehydrator is the circular kind, and it worked fine too). If you don't have a dehydrator, simply arrange balls on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake at the lowest oven temperature with the door ajar. Keep an eye on them, as they will be ready in less than half the time required for dehydration.
- Serve warm with a dusting of cinnamon.