Crio Bliss Balls

Instead of regular truffles for an Easter treat, I thought it would be nice to make something a little healthier. Inspired by Tenina and Quirky Jo, I turned to cocoa beans. Jo uses raw beans and Tenina, the roasted Crio beans. I'm a fan of Crio beans and have a couple of packets in my cupboard, so I've come up with these Crio Bliss Balls.

They are dairy free, low in processed sugar and will keep you going all day with the slow release of energy that Crio Brü provides.

Crio Bliss Balls
220g roasted hazelnuts (I get them from 2brothersfoods.com)
85g Crio Brü ground cocoa beans
Thinly peeled rind of one orange, in strips
2 tsp Cointreau
20g raw sugar or rapidura
250g Medjool dates (fresh dates), de-seeded

3/4 cup dessicated coconut
Toast coconut in a ceramic or pyrex dish in the microwave. Use 3 or 4 x 30 second bursts and stir well in between. Cool.

Place hazelnuts into TM and blend on speed 8 for 20 to 30 seconds.
Add all other ingredients, except coconut and process for 10 to 15 seconds on speed 9.
Check for consistency and process in 10 second bursts if needed.
Do not over process or the nuts will release their oil.
Roll into balls and roll in toasted coconut.

Variations
Instead of orange rind, try a teaspoon of pure vanilla. Add Crème De Cacao instead of Cointreau.
Use any other toasted nuts such as almonds, pecans, cashews or walnuts. Try using maple syrup instead of sugar if using walnuts or pecans.
Use salted nuts for a different twist.
Add a pinch of chilli powder.
Remove some of the Crio Brü grounds and replace with an equal quantity of Crio Brü chocolate coated cocoa beans.
Roll in melted Belgian Chocolate instead of toasted coconut.