Everyone’s favorite Fudge Babies, one of my most popular recipes of all time, are back once again!
Oil Free
Flourless
Vegan
Just 5 Ingredients… and NO Baking Required!
These secretly vegan and healthy chocolate fudge balls, with just a few wholesome ingredients and no added sugar, are easy to make, completely delicious… and totally addictive!
Don’t say I didn’t warn you!!!!!
Readers also love this Banana Ice Cream
This has been one of my most popular recipes with readers over the years, and for good reason.
If you’ve never heard of Fudge Babies, they’re basically raw and paleo chocolate truffles made without any added sugars, oil, or processed ingredients, and they’re pretty much impossible to stop eating.
The recipe is one of the easiest healthy desserts you’ll ever try.
Fudge Babies will always have a special place in my heart because, long before the Chickpea Cookie Dough Dip or the Black Bean Brownies came onto the scene, this was actually the first one of my recipes to ever go viral!
Fudge Babies come in all sorts of different flavors, such as Thin Mint, German Chocolate, and Chocolate Peanut Butter.
You can roll them into balls, cut out shapes with cookie cutters, or even form them into bars to make your own homemade Larabars, for a healthy snack any time you’re craving chocolate.
You can also roll them in coconut flour if you want to make your own homemade Larabar Bites.
And because they don’t need to be refrigerated, they’re great for any of the following:
Packing in a lunchbox
Making a batch to give as a gift
Shipping to family or friends
Taking as a healthy on-the-go snack
So why highlight the Fudge Babies again now?
Well first of all, the recipe is way too good to be lost in the archives.
If you have just 5 minutes, I highly recommend making a batch.
They are ridiculously fun to make and even more fun to eat.
Especially with Valentine’s Day around the corner, chocolate Fudge Babies are the perfect recipe, because they are both heart healthy and sinfully decadent and chocolatey at the same time.
But even more importantly: On February 21st, at noon EST, I’ll be making these fudge babies live in the studio at the USA Today Headquarters!
**Edit: Above is the live footage from the USA Today Headquarters broadcast
I included a few flavor variations below, but the sky really is the limit.
Have fun coming up with your own Fudge Baby flavors by adding ingredients such as chia seeds, almond extract, shredded coconut, instant coffee, or anything else you think sounds good.
I’d love to see your variations, so please feel free to post a photo of your results in the comment section below, or tag me on Instagram @ChocolateCoveredKatie.
Fudge Babies – The Famous Recipe!
Ingredients
- 1 cup walnuts or nuts of choice – Or here’s a Nut-Free Version
- 1 1/3 cup pitted dates
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 3-4 tbsp cocoa or cacao powder
- optional just over 1/8 tsp salt
- optional mini chocolate chips
- optional add-ins such as chia seeds or shredded coconut
Instructions
- *If your dates are super hard, just soak them in boiling water for a half hour. Most regular grocery stores carry dates; just be sure to buy them pitted. I usually add the salt, but it’s your choice! Blend all ingredients in a food processor (or halve the recipe and use a single serve blender or mini chopper). When doing a full recipe, I’ve found that a food processor works much better than a blender because everything processes more evenly and the results are not a sticky mess. Roll into balls – I find it’s easiest to transfer the dough to a ziploc and smush it into one big ball, then break off pieces and roll into smaller balls. Feel free to dip in melted chocolate or roll in cocoa powder or shredded coconut or coconut flour. You can also form bars or even roll out the dough and cut shapes with cookie cutters! View Nutrition Facts Variations: Hot Chocolate Fudge Babies: 1/4 cup raw cashews or walnuts, loosely packed 2/3 cup pitted dates, 1 tbsp Dutch cocoa powder, pinch salt Coconut Cookie Fudge Babies: loosely packed 2/3 cup pitted dates, 1 1/2 tbsp coconut butter, pinch salt Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge Babies: 1/4 cup roasted peanuts (with salt), loosely packed 2/3 cup pitted dates, 1 tbsp cocoa, 1/8 tsp pure vanilla extract And here’s a Cookie Dough Version!
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Haha! this is pure genius, your fudge baby creation!
Yum! I made the cashew version and added 1/8 tsp. peppermint extract. They taste like Girl Scouts Thin Mints! I crunched the numbers to get the WW points values: I used a melon baller and got 9 servings, which comes out to 1 point per serving. But be careful, if you only divide the dough 8 ways, it comes out to 2 points!
hi Katie! im gonna make this into pie crust and bake and than pour stawberry truffle on it. Do you think it will work?
Even better than I remembered them from the first time around. However I changed a few things which made them work for ME a bit better:
– I blended the walnuts first until most of them were a powder, but a few good lumps were left.
– I added about a tbs of water at the end of blending
– I rolled each one in the 4th tbs of cocoa powder mixted with a bit of Splenda.
This made them more like little fudge balls for me 🙂
How do you store Fudge Babies ( in fridge, cabinet?) And how long are they good for.
I’ve tried a number of different ways, and here’s my experience with each:
Cabinet storage: a few days at most
Fridge: Up to several weeks
Freezer: 2-3 months
Love this recipe. I just made the fudge babies but used toasted coconut almonds and put some flaked coconut on top. Almond joy!
Do you think it would work to use almonds or peanuts instead of walnuts or cashews? These look fabulous, but my husband has major allergies and we can’t keep certain nuts in the house.
I think it’d be good! I’ve tried her nut recipes with different kinds, and substitutions are often good.
OMG! They really are addictive! I just tried the recipe and could not stop eating it!!
how many balls does this recipe make??
These taste absolutely delicous! They taste like a rich brownie – or brownie batter. They are super easy to make and simple ingredients. They turned out so great my mom made me make more for my oldest sister (who is vegan and gluten-free) and her husband. I love your recipes because they are so simple and healthy. 🙂