Cathy Katin-Grazzini
Cathy’s Kitchen Prescription LLC
www.cathyskitchenprescription.com
 
Little Sweethearts
 
Unlike the typical candies we woo our loved ones with, ladened with chocolate, cream, fat and sugar, these delectable little sweethearts are actually good for your sweetie’s heart. They are made with five simple ingredients: nutty roasted buckwheat, raw cacao, dates, and dehydrated raspberries and blueberries. These ingredients are very low in fat, low glycemic, and high in fiber and lots of antioxidant polyphenols. My sweetheart loves my sweethearts because they’re delicious. I love them because they are simple, pretty, and take no time to make at all.
 
Prep time: 30 minutes to roast buckwheat groats + 20 minutes
Makes 20 to 30 sweethearts, depending on size
 
1¼ cup raw organic buckwheat groats, freshly roasted
1 cup dense date paste from 1½ cups dates, any variety
¼ to 1/3 cup organic cacao, or to taste
1/3 cup organic dehydrated raspberries, crushed
1/3 cup organic dehydrated blueberries, crushed
 
Preheat the oven to 300°F.
Spread the raw buckwheat groats on a cookie sheet and roast them for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally so they brown evenly.
To make a dense date paste, just cover the dates with water and microwave for 2 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes. Then, using a high-speed blender, purée the dates with only as much of its soaking water as required to create a very smooth, dense paste.
Crush each type of freeze-dried berry separately. using either a small mortar and pestle or a coffee grinder.
In a small bowl, mix the roasted groats with the date paste. The mixture should be dense and hold together well. Stir in the cacao to taste. 
For variety, transfer a few tablespoons of the mixture to a separate bowl and stir in 2 teaspoons of the raspberry powder to lend color and flavor. Refrigerate both mixtures for a minimum of 15 minutes to firm up before shaping them.
Because Little Sweethearts are intensely flavored, make them bite sized. Use small heart and flower-shaped cutters. Fill them as thickly as you like, packing the mixture down firmly with an espresso spoon. Then push the compacted confection down carefully from the top to free them from the mold. Alter the sizes and shapes as you like, until you have used up both mixtures.
Set the Little Sweethearts on a tray lined with wax paper or parchment. Spoon raspberry powder into a small strainer and with a spoon push the powder through to dust the top of a third of the Sweethearts. Repeat with blueberry powder. Leave the raspberry-flavored mixture undusted on top to reveal its crunchy buckwheat filling.
Refrigerate until use and serve chilled. Little sweethearts will keep in the fridge for two weeks. They freeze well and can be kept frozen for 3 months.