Cranberry and Ginger Balls
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Serves: 16 to 18 balls
 

A closer look



Ginger is one of those ingredients that you either love, or can’t tolerate too much of, with very little middle gound. For me I am a total ginger lover, and as such use quite a bit in these lovely Cranberry and Ginger Balls. Having said that however, you can definitely reduce the amount of ginger used, and if you find fresh ginger too “hot”, then use glace or crystalised ginger which is sweeter and milder in flavour.

You can use any dried berry you like, but cranberries and ginger go so beautifully together.

To make these balls uniform, I use a 20ml Australian tablespoon measure to collect the mix, before rolling them in my hands to get a uniform shape. The mix is quite sticky, so I always have a small bowl of filtered water nearby to lightly dampen my fingers as I remove the mix from the spoon and start rolling into a ball.

If using these as a gift, place the balls in small patty cases for presentation.
Ingredients
  • 20g to 40g fresh ginger (peeled weight), or glace or crystalised ginger (use more or less depending on personal taste)
  • 80g dried cranberries (or other dried berry of choice)
  • 150g raw almonds (or sunflower seeds for nut free)
  • 50g shredded or desiccated coconut
  • 1 tbls honey
  • 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
  • 1 tsp sea salt flakes, or ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
  • Desiccated coconut for coating
Instructions
  1. Place ginger of choice into TM bowl and chop 3 seconds / speed 7
  2. Add rest of ingredients and mix 10 seconds / speed 7
  3. Stir mix around and repeat 10 seconds / speed 7
  4. Stir mix around for the third time, taste and add more salt and/or honey if necessary (if using seeds you may need a touch more honey as they are not as sweet as the almonds), and repeat 10 seconds / speed 7 until you have a firm paste
  5. Remove the mix to a separate bowl (I find it easier to roll into balls from a separate bowl instead of leaving the mix in the TM bowl)
  6. Use your tablespoon measure to collect the mix and roll into balls, dipping your fingers into the filtered water when needed
  7. Coat with extra desiccated coconut
  8. Best stored in fridge where they will keep for at least a week
Recipe by The Passionate Pantry at https://www.thepassionatepantry.com.au/cranberry-and-ginger-balls/