I so desperately wanted the entire title of this post to be an alliteration. Carrot cake crumbles? Crunchies? Catnip? None of those really work. Idk maybe catnip. Rather than force their name, though, I’m just gonna let them be as they are. Because they’re pretty damn amazing. DAMazing? (makes up for the lack of alliteration earlier). Recipe below!
Gather:
- 1/2 cup chopped carrots (this was 3 small-medium sized peeled carrots for me)
- 1 cup raw cashews
- 1/4 cup coconut butter or coconut manna
- 2 tbsp maple syrup (or 2 dates or no sweetener at all if you prefer)
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4-1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/8 tsp nutmeg
- sprinkle of sea salt
- for rolling: desiccated coconut flakes
Do:
- Pulse carrots in food processor first and transfer to separate bowl.
- Pulse cashews until a crumble forms. I didn’t pulse them into a flour because I like a few larger chunks dispersed throughout the batter.
- Add carrots back in and add remainder of ingredients. Pulse until a dough forms.
- Transfer dough to a bowl and refrigerate for 20-30 minutes (just makes them easier to roll).
- Roll into balls/bites and cover in coconut flakes. (If it’s still difficult to roll them, dampen fingers with a bit of water then roll).
- Makes about 10 large bites of a dozen medium sized.
These stay good in the fridge for about a week, though honestly they’ve never lasted in my fridge fore more than a few days. The ingredients used aren’t very perishable, so they don’t spoil quickly. Or just keep them in the freezer and sneak one here and there without worrying out them going off!
Substitutions:
- Someone made these with ghee instead of coconut butter and added cardamom and said they were great!
- “We subbed walnuts for cashews and I swear I’m in heaven. You rock and my mom says thank you haha”
- “Swapping madagascar vanilla bean ghee (fourth and heart brand) instead of coconut butter and they were amazing”
- using coconut oil instead of coconut butter also works
- using almond butter instead of coconut butter does NOT work (said one person), however, using 2 tbsp almond butter and 2 tbsp coconut oil does
- my thoughts: replacing cashews with macadamia nuts would be realllll nice and butter
- another person used cashew butter instead of coconut butter and added a handful of golden raisins and said that worked
- Someone made them with almonds and said they were delicious!
- Someone used sunflower seeds and sunflower butter, and added ginger and they worked!
- Also substituting oats for cashews, and ghee for coconut butter worked!
- Adding 1/3 cup oats and 2 scoops protein powder is fair game
- If you use eating evolved coconut butter, omit dates or maple syrup (the butter is slightly sweetened)
- “Subbed like 6 dates for the coconut butter and they turned out great!”
46 Responses
cashew coconut carrot cake creations
Haha please title all of my blog posts from now on.
You are genuinely a master!! Love your blog so much and how you always have clean yet doable recipes ?
Keep shining girl!!!
Hahaha aw thank you so much Molly! Hope you love these!! xo
These looks AMAZING. Balls are life! I’m going to have to make a batch of these!
Hope you love them!! xo
Any possible tips on making these nut free? They sound DELISH ??
I haven’t tried! I’d have to do a bit of experimentation. If you figure out a good recipe, definitely leave it in the comments so others can try as well xo
Do you know if you could make these in a vitamix if you don’t have a food processor??
I’m not sure! The batter is quite sticky so I’m not sure if it would pulse properly. But worth a try!!
Looks so amazing!! How do you think i could adapt this recipe to use up my leftover cashew pulp (from making milk) instead of whole cashews? Maybe increase the amount of coconut butter?
I would dry the cashew pulp it out in the oven (200F for a few hours), otherwise the batter may be a bit too wet and soupy. xo
These look amazingggg but can i sub coconut butter for something else?
I just updated the post to include a few substitutions above! xo
Can’t wait to make these! I’m guessing coconut oil isn’t a sub for coconut butter or coconut manna?
Yes!! Some have used coconut oil as a substitution and said it has worked!! xo
Making these tonight and I’m so excited! How many balls does the recipe make?
Made about 10 for me, but I rolled them large! I’d say about a dozen medium sized bites!
Can’t wait to try! I accidentally bought roasted, unsalted cashews? Will those do the trick?
Yes! I used raw, but any kind will work!!
I’ve made them and they are fantastic! I find that they really help against my sweeth tooth and I’ve got a big one?
That’s awesome! So happy to hear you’re loving them!!
So what’s coconut butter? Making those as we speak with coconut oil since I don’t know what coconut butter is! ?
Comes from the meat of the coconut, not the oil extracted. Nutiva as a brand that I buy and it’s called coconut manna. Unmelted coconut oil also works in the recipe.
I added chopped pecans prior to rolling into balls to add a little extra crunch. These were even better after sitting in the fridge over night. Have you tried a banana bread variation?
Yum!!! And not yet – maybe that’ll be next on the list! xo
These are AMAZING!!! Thank you for sharing these comforting treats, the spices are my faves!! Cannot rave enough!! Genius!! ❤
aw that makes me so happy to hear!!! glad you’re loving them! xo
I specifically bought nutmeg for these and tested my new food processor. *_* they are legiiiitttt
So happy you like them!!! xo
Made these tonight and they are so good!! I can’t even keep the kids off of them. I’m going to have to make a double batch next time.
Woohoo!!!! Love it! xo
Thank you for including the “substitutions” section! You’re thoroughness on each blog post is very appreciated. Also, I plan to make these. You rock, Twistoflemons!
Aw! Thanks so much, Valerie! So glad you found it helpful!
Subbed like 6 dates for the coconut butter and they turned out great! xo
Awesome!! Thanks, Karolina!! I’ll add it to the post!
These came out really wet for me! Is that normal?
Hi Mich! I haven’t heard that from others who tried the recipe. So sorry!
You could try putting the dough in the fridge for an hour or so and then rolling them. Or add more cashews / less coconut butter next time.
Probably the prettiest balls I’ve ever encountered…?
Making these now! These look Amaze balls!
Woohoo!! Hope you love them! xo
Hey Katie! I tried these today and they are amazeballs! 🙂
I used about 2ish Tbsp. MaraNatha coconut almond butter I already had in place of the coconut butter and they turned out really well. Can’t wait to try some of your other recipes!!
That makes me so happy to hear!! Thanks for sharing, Emily!! xo