This post is being brought to you by a warp in the space-time continuum. As I write, it is Friday night, and I have just packed some clothes, pyjamas, a tiny heater borrowed from work, chocolate, and a book into an overnight bag. I am also, as I write, slightly emotionally exhausted, as I had iTunes playing as I packed and found myself transitioning from happily-singing to sobbing-hard-enough-that-I-couldn’t-sing back to laughing-as-I-sang.
Fie on you, shuffle system! Don’t you know that a girl can’t cope with a boppy rendition of Simon and Garfunkel’s Cecilia followed by Johnny Cash singing Hurt (destroys me. every. time*) followed by Everyone’s A Hero from Dr Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog?
Ah well. It’s cheaper than a visit to the therapist, I guess.
Where was I?
Sneak Peak of future post story fun times galore! This is what I look like when I’m singing to my grandparents on their 60th Wedding Anniversary. It’s quite different to what I look like when I’m crying-singing Hurt by Johnny Cash in my bedroom. Thank heavens.
Oh yes. Time warpiness. The fact that I’m writing this on Friday night, but the post will emerge in your world on Sunday afternoon, around about the time that my non-religious Strange Weather Gospel Choir and I are performing our second concert of the weekend, somewhere out in the country.
My guess is that my feet will be so cold that they’ll have lost feeling, but my hope is that the rest of me will be full of happiness, exhilaration, memories of beer at a country pub the night before, shared smiles with my gospel friends, and a tummy glad to have received the no-bake chocolate chip cookie dough truffles I made on Friday afternoon for the weekend trip away.
No-Bake Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Truffles
The keen-eyed amongst you have probably realised that these are almost exactly the same as the raw vegan cookie dough truffles I posted a few months ago. I probably didn’t really need to post this version of the recipe in its entirety, but you know what? I totally did anyway. If this irks you considerably, please feel free to go back in time to Friday-Hannah and tell her to stop typing.
- 1/2 cup (60g) raw cashews
- 1/2 cup (60g) raw almonds
- 1/3 cup (40g) raw pecans
- 1/2 cup (60g) multigrain oat/grain mix (or just rolled oats)
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp almond essence
- 1/4 cup agave nectar
- pinch salt
- 3 tb chopped dark chocolate (I use 99% Lindt, but feel free to use something sweeter)
- In a food processor, process nuts and oats to a fine meal.
- Add extract, essence, agave, and salt, and process until mixture comes together. Tip in chopped chocolate and pulse until just mixed through.
- Roll into balls, trying to resist eating the entire batch in one go and pretending you never stepped into the kitchen in the first place. Wonder whether you can get away with blogging an almost-identical-to-an-already-blogged recipe…
Question time: Do you have any songs that [almost] always make you cry?
Yummers
What a lovely treat!
Oh gosh, the songs that make me cry… refer to my comment on my ex-high school music teacher’s blog post about chord progressions. I have problems.
No you don’t. You have brilliance. Though personally, Video Killed The Radio Star is something I can’t help rocking out to, not crying over. We would appear a very strange pair if it came on when we were together.
99% Lindt – haven’t seen this yet. Very healthy dessert, indulge guilt-free!
I believe in indulging guilt-free in all desserts
The heartbreak songs don’t really get to me anymore, but wow, there was a time they did. In a way, I sort-of loved it, feeling so much emotion. A good cry feels great sometimes.
I think I’ve previously extolled the value of a good Cry Detox! Funnily enough, most of my heartbreak songs aren’t heartbreak-y at all in nature (except for hurt), as the emotions are usually more to do with memories associated with the songs than the songs themselves!
I will be making those balls! Also, the juxtaposition of Simon and Garfunkel and Doctor Horrible speaks to me very loudly. Love them both.
And now I like you even more
Appropriately, your short packing list includes chocolate. As it should.
I never go anywhere without chocolate. And I say that with absolute pride.
Well I made a version of a previous muffin recipe this weekend and I think I will post it – I love the evolution of recipes on blogs. I smiled at you taking your heater with you – I hope it is for your bedroom and that you don’t have to plug it in and have it at your feet as you sing
Enjoy your country singing!
Thanks Johanna! It was a fabulous trip. Yep, the heater was for the FREEEEEEEZING hotel, and much appreciated it was indeed! Looking forward to the muffin
Aw, sounds like such a great time- Hope you’re thoroughly enjoying yourself! Those chocolate chip cookie bites look wonderful… A nice balance of delicious and healthy.
Thank you Hannah! I had a time more wonderful than I’d expected – it was over too soon! (Except the car ride home. That could’ve gone faster, particularly after realising that the stupid evil conglomeration didn’t put soymilk in my cappuccino as requested. Or decaf. Grrr.)
I’m going to give these a go soon – yum!
PS. You look REALLY good in that photo! Wow!
Aw, thank you!!! I’m trying to ignore the tone of surprise in your comment and focus instead on the compliment
Looking good there ;D I didn’t read the one you posted a few months ago so this one’s still fresh! And it looks fantastic, but woww 99% Lindt is pretty intense.
Yay! Must admit, one of the reasons behind the almost-re-post was knowing I have new readers now
I can’t eat the 99% on its own, but love it here!
LOVE Dr Horrible and he’s been getting some serious rotation on our iPad of late – nothing like ‘the deltoids of compassion; the abs of being kind….’ to make things right again!
I agree 100% – Dr. Horrible is pretty much a panacea. Though I look forward to a time for you soon when you don’t need it to be on rotation *hugs*
Yes! “Fix You” by Coldplay! It gives me goosebumps every time.
Those no-bake chocolate chip cookie balls look so good. I might have to pick up the ingredients for them while I’m out
I had no idea you could make them without dates!
Oh yes, that’s a good’un! Ah, you’ve picked up on one of the reasons that I make these quite often – no dates! Wish fresh dates weren’t so hard to find and expensive here!
Ahh okay, I see. Well I’m still super impressed you managed to make them without. And hey, if ya don’t need them to make those things come out looking like that, then I say screw ‘em anyway
I like the way you think.
The House That Built Me by Miranda Lambert does me in all the time.
To youtube I go! (I’m fairly certain I’ll know it when I hear it. I sadly have an inability to connect songs and titles more often than not!)
Hurt gets me too. Especially the part “and you should have it all, my whole empire of dirt” wowzers.
Hope you are having an awesome time in the country singing and eating those balls.
Don’t you fear, my dear. I’m rarely not happy when I’m eating balls.
I think I have to leave that there.
Yep, in addition to Hurt, Ryan Adams’ version of Wonderwall tears me up. It was the song my husband and I danced to on our wedding day.
Hey, that’s the song (well, the Oasis version) that I rocked out to with my brother and his friends at 3am in Melbourne the other week! High five!
mmmm healthy snacking here! love the almond essence you added to these truffles
! didn’t know that you liked to sing 
!
Teehee, now you do! Singing makes me splendiferously happy
And isn’t almond essence just the greatest?
There are a couple of songs that get to me each time i hear them. I totally agree you don’t therapy to just get it all out
You look so pretty in the pic, Hannah!
Aw, thank you Priyanka! Must. buy. straightener…
These look great. I’ve got a few recipes coming up for energy balls that are perfect treats or pre-running snacks. I love balls. Erm, yeah, that’s not what I meant really, but you know. Hope your weekend went well & you return with all of your frozen toes still intact.
Don’t try to pull the wool over my eyes, missy. That was exactly what you meant
Toes all present and accounted for! Hurrah!
mmm cookie dough is my favourite treat! people should eat raw cookie dough more often, so much better than baked.
Absolutely! Australians need to get more on the raw cookie dough bandwagon, though. We’re sorely lacking in cookie dough ice cream (vegan or not!)
That is EXACTLY the type of thing I am interested in eating right now.
I tear up extremely easily: books, movies, commercials, after a couple drinks… Never songs, though! But I also listen exclusively to Lil’ Wayne in the car. Okay, that’s an exaggeration. Nicki Minaj, too.
Not Nikki Webster?
(Okay, you’re totally not going to get that. Come be an Aussie, and then we can talk Strawberry Kisses.)
I wish I could send you some of these, Lauren! I still have several in my freezer
EEK, ok, I have to point out that Hurt is not by Johnny Cash – he only recorded a COVER of it! It’s really by Trent Reznor, a.k.a. Nine Inch Nails, the best band in the whole entire freaking universe, from the 1994 album The Downward Spiral. Don’t let Johnny’s rendition fool you into thinking it’s HIS song! It’s Trent’s! Download the original, PLEASE!
Whew, ok, now that I got that out of the way (I nearly have a heart attack every time I hear someone call Hurt a Johnny Cash song, so you must excuse me)…
We must be psychically in sync yet again, because a recipe very similar to this is in my cookbook. In fact, just tested the final version of it 2 days ago! So we were likely enjoying raw cookie dough truffles at the same time
and PS – I’ve cried to the original version of Hurt since I was 12 years old (14 years now…wow…), and cried (or near-cried) while seeing/hearing it live 11 times. So I get you there.
PPS – I have a quite lot of cry-every-time songs, but if I were to pick just one to BEG you to download (besides NIN’s Hurt!), it would be Cool On Your Island by Tori Amos. Pretty please. No black metal whatsoever there!
P.S. Yep, you definitely get me there! If I were to see Johnny Cash perform Hurt live now, I think I’d be more terrified and icked out than sad
P.P.S. I’ll definitely check that out when I’m home!
If Trent and Johnny Cash’s ghost got together onstage for a Hurt duet, I think that’s a concert I’d go to any lengths to attend.
Calm down, calm down, my darling! I know this
But it’s still the version by Johnny Cash that gets me, not the Nine Inch Nails one. It’s the sound of Cash’s gravelly voice and knowing what he was going/had been through… it gets me more than the original. I’m sorry that my failure to be completely articulate around this caused you heart palpitations my dear, but rest assured I’ve always known his is the cover 
Hopefully anyone who isn’t as well versed in music history has read your comment, though! 
I’d hate to perpetuate falsities!
Whee, cookie dough twins! I do like you, you know.
Ok, whew! You had me worried there
I should’ve known you’d be sharp enough to know it was a cover.
Delish indeed! Hope the concerts went well!
Looks really interesting, i haven’t tried any of these raw delights as yet!
Get to it, my dear! Super yumminess awaits you
P.S. Blogger still won’t let me comment on your blog, but I am reading!
Wow, straight hair really suits you: you look great.
Aw, thanks Brent! Now, to steel myself to spend $200 on a straightener… :S
Oh how sweet! The concert AND your truffles
I always cry when I hear our wedding song, but then again, I’m pregnant.. so I cry at pretty much anything remotely sentimental these days! hehehe
Teehee! Yep, you definitely have an excuse for constant waterworks
What a gorgeous pic of you both! Straight hair looks awesome on you, dear lady! Secret song confession: ‘Two Little Boys’ by Rolf Harris. Always gets me teary-eyed, but then I cry easily at sad movies, too!
Thank you Jonathon! Love the confession – and I’m glad it wasn’t Jake the Peg
mmm these look delicious!
these look insane, I love them! Hope the tour went well!! Many songs make me want to try. I can get emotional
Heidi xo
One day I’ll tell y’all what certain of my fellow tourees thought they “looked” like… :S Thank Heidi!
Well this is strange – I had a Johnny Cash weekend!!
However, I had PMS, so I was not prepared to listen to sad songs. I couldn’t get enough of “It Ain’t Me, Babe” on the weekend. It’s such a happy, thigh slapping song.
I hope you felt relieved and lighter after your sobbing episode.
Yay, psychic-music connection! There are certainly Johnny Cash songs to suit many diverse moods, aren’t there? I love a bit of “We got married in a fever” when I’m feeling bouncy
Yes, great song and fantastic title!
You had me at chocolate chip cookie dough.
Love the straight hair, by the way!
Thank you Julia! I do too… if only I owned a straightener myself!
You Miss crack me up, I can imagine you singing/crying/singing your heart out, and you do it all with zero alcho to buzz you along. Impressive! My dad was a huge Johnny Cash fan, not a one of his songs make me feel sad, only take me on a trip down memory lane. He always sounds so damn jolly. I cant help but tap the toes and talk in a Southern American accent. LOL. Right… I hope your okay now, and you’ve recovered from your mammoth weekend.
Your hair looks so pretty, the lighter ends look great. You look good singing, I look stoopid… Not my fortay at all.
Those balls look great! Want!
Bahaha! You’re so right. Part of the reason I rarely drink is because I’m perfectly capable of kookiness on my own
Aw, I love that all JC is happy for you! And I must hear this Southern accent of yours next time we catch up…. 
Thanks so much bestie! You make me smile
Now if you told me you could time travel I would totally believe it! If anyone could you could!
You’ve uncovered my secret! I’m actually Dr Who’s sidekick.
And I bet you fly too right?
With a little bit of pixie dust
I have a stupid song! Toni Braxton (Unbreak my Heart!).. always makes me sad… AND.. I WILL TRY THIS VEGAN THING YOU CALL CHOCOLATE CHIP Cookie Dough truffles… because you’re my dear “fried” … pffttt
*laughs* My dear fried, I would’ve forgotten all about that by now if you hadn’t kept it going
Hmm, “balls” is probably a better term that truffles, in retrospect… but they really are tasty, I promise!
Toni Braxton isn’t too bad… a high school friend of mine used to put on Mariah Carey when she wanted to cry. I think that’s worse…
I love Hurt, but not when I’m feeling fragile! Glad the weekend worked out well as of course it should have! Wish I could have heard the singing.
August 13, October 22-23, December 10… you can make your absence up to me then
xo
What’s Aug 13? Are the Oct dates the Moruya one?
Christchurch fundraising gig here in Canberra, and yes, I believe so! We might be doing 4 performances in 2 days at Moruya!
You look beautiful with straight hair! And I’ve been seeing these raw vegan balls all over the place! I might have to try one or two
Aw, thank you Monique!
Let me know what you think if you try these particular raw balls 
You packed a heater?
Aww, I love that so much! Where are you going?
I’m a big fan of using music to get into contact with your emotions, but I must be careful not to overdo it or I’ll get depressed.
I usually don’t cry, though. However, there are these two songs by Metallica – “Nothing Else Matters” and “The Unforgiven 2″ – that almost get me to. Funny, I don’t listen to rock or metal a lot, but I dearly love these two songs.
We went to a small country town and a bigger country city. The heater was a godsend in the end – so completely necessary in the freezing heritage hotel we stayed at!
I love how good music can transcend genres, as you’ve discovered. Our accompaniest is an amazing classical pianist… he played for me and made my heart soar
Some songs can make me cry, but unsurprisingly, it depends on my mood. ‘Hurt’ is amazing – the emotion!
Ohhhh those truffles, how I adored them.
Ah yes, your brazil nut version! I still haven’t made any raw desserts with brazil nuts myself… *adds to mental to-make list*
Mmm these look great — love the addition of crunch and flavor from the nuts!
I almost couldn’t make it down to add my comment because of the string of Cash / Nine Inch Nails comments up the way. Because….. I was about to say that Johnny Cash makes me cry, but only because I dislike him so much:(
However, I may be crying because everyone around me seems to get SO ANGRY! when I admit I can’t stand his music. I think I’ve only met one other person who feels the same way… Alas.
For real though, I can’t think of anything at the moment. Songs that make me sad but that I love would include ‘Why does it always rain on me?’ by Travis, ‘For Emma’ by Bon Iver (fitting, I know), and I suppose ‘If I needed you’ by Townes Van Zandt. No cryin’ though:)
You are more than entitled to your dislike, Emma my dear! To be honest, I wouldn’t say I love Johnny Cash, as for most of my life I only knew of him vaguely. I have, however, long liked his version of Hurt, and for some reason have had his music pop up all over the place lately.
I do, however, have an instinctual hatred for Tom Cruise that often incites disgust in fans of Risky Business, so I know a little of what you’re going through
If I moved away from my cry-hyperbole, I’d definitely have to add Brick by Ben Folds Five to by list of sad songs too
“Hear You Me” by Jimmy Eat World and “Do You Realize?????” by the Flaming Lips. I am no stranger to the gets-me-every-time song.
So many new songs I have to check out on youtube when I have better internet! I’m guessing that I’m going to realise I know most of them when they start playing
P.S. Trust a food blogger to mention bands with the words “eat” and “lips” in their names
Wow, these truffles look delicious! They’d make a great dessert or snack!
Thanks for sharing, Hannah!
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I wanted to try these the first time round. Since I just got a new kitchen toy that absolutely requires that I try multiple new recipes, perhaps I’ll try these this weekend? And they do so totally look like rissoles as your friend noticed.
New kitchen toy? Oooh, food processor? Kitchen aid? Do tell!
Also, they looked even more like rissoles in real life. I wish he hadn’t pointed it out!
Wow! Your balls (protein cookie dough and truffles) look awesomely yummy! I can’t wait to get home to whip some up. I found you through diet, dessert and dogs blog. I’m ALWAYS looking for goodies to feed my finicky toddler. I pack healthy and weird treats in his lunch box just to freak out the teachers. So, I’ll be coming back frequently to see what other chocolatey awesomeness you can come up with. BTW, Mama I’m Coming Home by Ozzy sent me into racking sobs. It was so bad, I had to pull over on the side of the road to compose myself.
Thank you so much for stopping by and taking the time to comment, Susan! I love that you get a kick out of creating “interesting” (but delicious!) treats for your toddler that will confuse his teachers
These, even more than the protein truffles, are sure to convince even dedicated omnivores with their deliciousness, though, so I heartily recommend making them!
I really hope you do come back and keep enjoying it. And oh, I’m a bit scared of looking up that song in case it makes me cry too!