Christmas pudding protein balls are filled with traditional warm spices like cinnamon, allspice, cocoa, and a touch of orange then sweetened with dates and raisins. A perfect sweet Christmas snack to share or a treat for yourself after a busy day of shopping.
1tablespoonpumpkin seeds nice shaped pumpkin seeds for leaves
1/2tablespoondried cranberries
Instructions
– Blend raisins, protein powder, pecans, orange juice, cinnamon, allspice orange zest, and cocoa powder in a food processor.
Blend all of the ingredients in a food processor for 2-3 minutes or until a smooth consistency is obtained.
Scoop the dough using a small cookie scoop into approximately 12 even-sized balls. Roll the ball in the palm of your hand to pack the mixture tight. Place on a parchment-lined cookie sheet and chill for 30 minutes in the refrigerator.
Cut dried cranberries into thirds, then roll in your fingers to form balls for berry decorations.
Melt the white chocolate in a double boiler. Remove balls from the refrigerator and top with a dollop of chocolate, encouraging slight drips down the side of the ball.
Place two cranberry pieces and 2 pumpkin seeds on each Christmas pudding protein ball to decorate.
Place cookie sheet in the refrigerator to allow the protein balls to harden for about 20 minutes. Store in the refrigerator until you are ready to eat. Enjoy!
Notes
How to zest an orange:
Wash the outside peel of your orange thoroughly. Dry with a clean towel.
Using a small zesting grater push the oranges down the grater, just like you would shread cheese.
Turn the orange frequently as you grate.
Be very careful not to go past the orange peel into the white layer. This part of the orange is very bitter and would not be good in a recipe.
Tips
If you don't have a double boiler, gather two pans, being sure one fits right inside the other without gaps. Fill the bottom pan with one or two inches of water. Next, set the top pot into the pan with water. Bring to a low simmering boil. You do not want this to boil too hard, or it will cause water to splash out into your top pan. This will ruin your melting chocolate.
To make sure your protein balls are uniform in size don't use a wooden spoon to scoop out the dough. It is best to use a small cookie scoop (LINK0 to scoop out even size pieces of dough before rolling them into a ball. It might help to start with wet hands so the sticky dough forms a ball instead of staying on your hands.
Be sure and choose whole pumpkin seeds for the leaves next to the cranberries to look more like holly