Rawbits!
Canadians love their doughnuts. So much so, they have become part of our culture. Timbits, the brand name of bite-sized doughnut balls sold at the popular coffee shop franchise Tim Hortons, has become a generic term for what the United States and other parts of the world call “donut holes.” They were first introduced in 1976 and come in various flavours like chocolate glazed, honey dip, jelly-filled, sour cream glazed and apple fritter.
I haven’t had a Timbit in over 15 years, so I thought it was about time I created my own version in the form of rawbits. This recipe came about after Lisa showed me a raw bread technique using a particular ingredient that helps obtain a soft and spongy bread-like texture. I thought this would be a fabulous way to create raw doughnuts, so I started playing with different flours, flavours and sweeteners in order to come up with a version that has a similar doughy texture and is as tasty as the real thing.
These are nothing like the popular raw truffle balls, dense and flavourful in their own right, or even anything like Ani Phyo’s version. These babies make use of Irish moss, an incredible ingredient often used in raw desserts to create a thick, gelatinous consistency, and then they’re dehydrated overnight to form a soft “cooked” texture, and then covered in a sweet, shiny glaze.
You’d never know these are raw. Or good for you.
While I’m on the subject of raw treats, I should remind you that you have 8 days left to enter the Raw Cake Pop Challenge! I’m really looking forward to seeing what you come up with. Read this post for more details. [Update: This challenge is now over.]
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups almond meal
- 3/4 cup coconut flakes, ground
- 1/3 cup flax meal
- 1/2 cup raw cacao powder
- 1/2 tsp vanilla powder (or seeds of 1 vanilla bean)
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 cup pure maple syrup
- 1/4 cup chopped dates, soaked until soft
- 3 tbsp Irish moss paste (see instructions here)
- 3 tbsp coconut oil, melted
- 3 tbsp pure maple syrup
- 1 tbsp raw cacao powder, sifted
Instructions
- In a food processor, pulse the almond meal, ground coconut, flax meal, cacao powder, vanilla powder, cinnamon and salt to combine.
- Add the maple syrup, chopped dates and Irish moss and process until the mixture forms into sticky dough. Put the mixture in the fridge for about 20 minutes to allow it to firm up.
- Remove the dough from the fridge and roll small balls with your hands, about 1 tablespoon each. Place the balls on a dehydrator tray and dehydrate overnight. The balls should be slightly firm on the outside and no longer sticky.
- Dip the balls in the chocolate glaze and place on a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper. Refrigerate for about an hour to dry. Store rawbits in a covered container in the fridge.
Chocolate glaze:
- Whisk together all ingredients in a small bowl. Keep at room temperature until ready to use.
These look and sounds delicious. Thanks for sharing. I need to find some irish moss.
Have a great day,
Aimee
AAwwwwwmychocolate! You read my mind. I've been craving chocolate glazed donutholes all week! I'm gonna need to make these to satisfy that craving, but I don't have irish moss
do you know of any substitutions that could be used in place of that?
Rebecca: When developing this recipe, I also tried making a version without the Irish moss. It works, but they turn out denser. There's no raw sub that I know of, so I'd suggest just making them without it. Dehydrating time would also be less. I hope you enjoy them!
Your recipe sounds delicious. I can imagine the perfect fluffy texture the irish moss provides. I actually just created a carrot muffin/scone recipe using a variation on the rolls we made together.
I have some irish moss paste in the fridge that just may get rolled into rawbits tonight.
YUM! These sound amazing. I love the texture irish moss gives things!
Thanks this looks great. I do have Irish Moss but haven't tried it yet. I was going to use it for a Cafe Gratitude recipe but some are too complex for my time. I am Canadian so I am loving this post.
Yummy! I need to get my hands on some irish moss asap!
I love your blog
Oh dang, I do love me some timbits. I will have to try this recipe, it sounds really good and the texture of the rawbits in the photo looks nice and not too dense. I've had Irish moss in my cupboard for over a year now, but never used it yet. High time, it seems.
I love Cafe My House too. Their mini veg burgers are amazing – what food dreams are made of.
These look delicious!
Sasha: You should give your Irish moss a try! It takes a while to get used to it (smell, look, texture) but it's an incredible ingredient.
Jenne: Thanks!
tweal: This is a great recipe to make use of that Irish moss sitting in your cuboard
How about flax or chia gel – can these sub for irish moss gel??
Flax and chia will provide a different texture — not as much of a fluffy, bread-like texture. The recipe will work without it, but they’ll be denser. They will also require less dehydrating time without the Irish moss.
I was searching for recipes with Irish Moss and found your blog…. Yay! I’ve only used the moss in a pudding recipe, and on my skin, thus far. What a unique and marvelous substance! I’m so excited to try it as a “baking” ingredient. My Rawbits are in the dehydrator this evening. I’m stoked about waking up tomorrow and trying one! Thank you very much for the recipe!
Back to say…..WOW!! Enjoyed a couple of these lucious treats for breakfast right out of the dehydrator. Yummy!! I may even just skip the glaze…they are THAT good on their own. I’m guessing I should still refrigerate them though, since they contain flax? This recipe is definitely going to be a staple for me. Thank you, again!
Thanks for your feedback, Carol! I’m so glad you enjoyed them. Yes, I’d suggest storing them in the fridge–they will also stay fresh longer that way.
If you’d like to try another recipe using Irish moss, I’d recommend this one: http://www.adashofcompassion.com/2012/01/sprouted-multiseed-banana-loaf/
I am soo looking forward to making these!! Will Irish moss powder work to make a paste?? Also, what temp did you dehydrate at? I’m new to dehydrating so I don’t want mess this up
THANKS!
I’ve never used Irish moss powder before but it should work. Just measure after making a paste. I always dehydrate at 110F. Hope that helps!
Yes this helps! Can’t wait to make them this weekend! Thank you!!