Apple And Date Balls - cooking recipe

Ingredients

2 1/2 lbs cooking apples or 2 1/2 lbs pears
2/3 cup pitted dates
1 cup apple juice
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts

Preparation

Halve and core the unpeeled fruit and place in a large, heavy saucepan.
Caste iron is good.
Add the dates, apple juice and ground cinnamon.
Cook over very low heat, stirring occasionally for 4 to 6 hours, or until the mixture forms a dry paste.
Scrape into a bowl and cool, then roll the mixture into bite size balls.
Toast the nuts under the broiler until golden.
Coat the balls in the nuts.
Twist each ball into a candy wrapper or cellophane; plastic wrap can be used.
Store in an airtight container.
Variation: Use half ground cinnamon and half ground ginger instead of the 1 teaspoon cinnamon.