Christmas is well and truly in the past by now, so please forgive me for bringing it up again. It’s with a mixture of sadness (there’s no longer an excuse to stuff your gob with as much tasty food as is humanely possible) and relief (no more crazed planning for another 9 months, hurrah!) that I do so. As far as share-house fridges go, ours is pretty darn good. There’s only been one case of a slimy, mouldy lettuce being extracted from the depths of the crisper. There’s been zilch smelly, green-tinged meat pushed to the back of the bottom shelf for someone else to deal with. No milk leaks or fuzzy, half eaten avocados. We’re doing pretty darn well. However, a few weeks ago we did uncover the left over fruit mince from these beauties, hidden (or squirreled away) behind the yoghurt tubs and various cheeses – yes mam we’ve got feta, chevre, parmesan and tasty cheddar (albeit the cheddar is the nasty shredded homebrand stuff, but let’s just skim over that). Typical share house says who? Boasting aside, the fruit mince was a glorious discovery and still in perfect nick. The crucial question was, what to do with it?

Swirl it through muffins? Roll into a sweet dough to create fruit mince scrolls? Make more fruit mince pies? Hmmm, how about a batch of Fruit Mince Bites? Think a non-chocolatey truffle with a smooth, creamy texture and fruit mince explosion of flavour. Almonds and coconut balance the rich, sweet fruit mince whilst also providing protein. Rolled oats give substance, the building blocks for the bites, whilst also moderating the fruit mince kick. The result? Small spheres of Christmas nostalgia. Healthy as far as truffles go, you can’t feel guilty about snacking on a few when when the post-dinner munchies kick in. Yet the distinctive fruit mince flavour fools your brain, and tastebuds, into thinking that you’re noshing on a rich, indulgent dessert.

If you’ve suddenly recalled that little jar that didn’t make it into your fruit mince pies, here’s the ideal solution for using it up! Though let’s be honest, not many people are going to be as slack as a certain someone and forget about it until February. I mean, who does that? Honestly. That certain someone may have also taken a few rushed photos of these babies in the first location she could think of…her bed, next to the pretty pillowcase. It seemed like a logical idea at the time…

Fruit Mince Bites
Makes about 16

Ingredients
½ cup rolled oats
¼ cup almonds
2 tbsp desiccated coconut
Scant 1 cup fruit mince

Method
Blitz the rolled oats, almonds and desiccated coconut to form a fine meal. Transfer to a bowl and work the fruit mince in, using a fork. Take tablespoons of the mixture and roll into balls. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Will keep, refrigerated, for up to 1 week.

Source: A tastewithoutwaste original.

Printable Recipe