Jelly Donut Holes! (vegan, gf)

Yes. Jelly DONUT HOLES. Did I mention that they are raw? AND NON-VEGAN APPROVED! Say whaaat?! I mean just look at them...how could they not be loved by all?

Raw Vegan Jelly Donut Holes

Ingredients:

1 cup raw cashews

1 cup shredded coconut

1 cup pitted Medjool dates (about 8-10)

1-2 teaspoons cinnamon

1-inch piece of vanilla bean

6-12 frozen cherries, thawed*

Icing:

2 tablespoons coconut oil

2 tablespoons maple syrup

Directions:

Place cashews, coconut, dates, cinnamon and vanilla bean into a food processor. Process until mixture begins to come together (see third photo below).

Cut the thawed cherries in half. Take a teaspoon of the mixture and create a crater to put a cherry into and add another teaspoon or so of the mixture to cover. Roll to form a golf-sized donut hole. Repeat until the mixture and cherries are gone. Place in the freezer while you make the icing.

For the icing, simply melt the coconut oil and maple syrup in a small saucepan over low heat. This doesn't take long! Stir until all the oil is melted and turn off the heat.

Take the donut holes out of the freezer and I like to plop each donut hole into the pan. Tip the pan so the icing can be easily spooned over the donut hole. Repeat for each donut hole until they are all covered in one layer of icing. Freeze for 5-10 minutes, then add another layer of icing (my tip here is to clean up the kitchen and then finish the second layer of icing #winning).

Makes 12 golf-ball sized donut holes.

*feel free to use homemade chia jam for the filling as the cherries didn't quite create the "jelly donut" feel I was going for, but they were still delicious!

They were a big hit in my family and I know they will be a big hit in yours :) if you give them a try, let me know!