In honor of our Natalie’s One Year Anniversary at Abbott House, and her commitment to consuming less sugar, we had Hedgehog Raw “Candy” this week.
To make these healthy snacks:
1 1/2 cups of dried mission figlets, with the stem removed
10 to 12 dried whole dates
22 oz (2 small boxes) raisins
1/4 cup of salted sunflower kernels or crushed walnut pieces.
Take all these ingredients for a spin in the food processor until they form a thick paste. If you pulse it 10 or 15 times when you start mixing it may help to incorporate the sunflower seeds.
Using 1 Tablespoon of the mixture per piece, form the paste into a ball using your hands (a little spritz of oil applied to the hands helps with the stickiness) play dough style. Flatten the bottom slightly and press one side into a snout type triangle for the body of your hedgehog. Put a sunflower kernel into the pointed end for a nose and then place kernels into the rounded end for the quills.
If you get tired of making the hedgehogs (or you run out of time) you can also keep the candy in a ball shape and roll in a crushed nut mixture. When I say roll I mean pick up little pinches and push them firmly into the sides of the ball then watch while the majority of it does not stick. This version is pictured top left.
