Halawa tamr (date and walnut balls)

These little balls were part of the Middle Eastern style dessert I served on my birthday party. They are incredibly easy to make, require no baking or cooking, are gluten-free, vegan, sugar-free (well almost), dairy-free and most important: delicious! The only two real ingredients are walnuts and dates. Those two are made into a paste in the food processor, rolled into balls and (optionally) rolled in icing sugar. Their taste reminded me of marzipan but with a walnut taste. The dates make the balls moist and sweet but not heavy on the date taste. Will try making them with almonds next time, see if it's even closer to marzipan.
As this is a recipe that doesn't require any baking or cooking, I'm sending it over to Grace of A Southern Grace for her event Beat the Heat.

Halawa tamr or date and walnut balls (from the Dutch edition of A New Book of Middle Eastern Food by Claudia Roden)

250 g (9 oz) walnuts
250 g (9 oz) dates, stoned
icing sugar (optional)

Process the walnuts and dates in a food processor until they are a paste. Roll into small balls and roll through icing sugar if desired.

btw ever seen such a short recipe?