Carrot Cake Bliss Balls

These Carrot Cake Bliss Balls are soft and chewy with hints of cinnamon and vanilla.    They're naturally sweetened, with creamy cashew butter, ground pecans and finely grated carrot adding texture, flavour and a hint of colour.

Why Make This Recipe

• Perfect for Carrot Cake lovers, but way easier and quicker to make
• Make them in under 10 minutes, and they freeze well
• They're sweet but not too sweet, they're low calorie, dairy free and perfect for on the go snacks
• There's no added sugar, and they are full of fibre and healthy fats
• Make 24 smaller balls (1-2 bites)  or 12 bigger balls (2-4 bites)
• Perfect for a grab and go breakfast as you head out the door
• Perfect as an after dinner snack to keep sweet cravings at bay

Do they really taste like carrot cake?  Yes and no.  They have a distinct carrot like flavour, but the texture is very different as the balls are chewier, similar to a bar than a cake.

Bliss Balls are one of my favourite things to make and my go to snack food. I love these Chocolate Coconut Date Balls, these Apricot Bliss Balls, and these Lemon and Coconut Balls.

Ingredients

Ingredient Notes

• Cashew Butter:  cashew nut butter is rich, thick and creamy and works wonderfully in this recipe, not only to help hold the balls together, but to also allow the gentle sweetness of the carrots to come through.  Alternatively you could use a creamy Almond Butter for the same effect.  Using a creamy peanut butter is another option.
• Carrot:  make sure to peel your carrots first to remove the tough outer skin.  Ideally the carrots should be finely grated so that they can be more evenly distributed throughout the mixtures.  A box grater will get the job done, using one of the smaller grate sides as opposed to the more commonly use bigger grate for grating cheese.

• Coconut Flour:  coconut flour helps to give the balls body and substance and packs out the bliss balls with fibre.  Alternatively you could use almond flour, that is the type that has been finely ground as opposed to almond meal with is grittier.  It's the flour consistency that helps to bring the balls together to give them their shape.
• Powdered Monkfruit:  My preferred sweetener is monkfruit which measures like sugar.  Powdered monkfruit works best in this recipe as it disappears and almost dissolves into the mixture without leaving any grittiness.  You could use finely granulated monkfruit and I don't think it would really be detectable amongst all the other ingredients.  Really any granulated sweetener that measures like sugar can be used, and grinding it with a pestle and mortar to get it as fine as possible would ensure it will be completely undetectable texture-wise. I also use powdered monkfruit in my No Bake Pumpkin Energy Balls and it works a treat.

• Pecans:  Pecans provide a lovely warm nuttiness and earthiness to the bliss balls and just like the coconut flour, provide additional body.  The pecans should be ground using a food processor for best results.  Alternatively you could use Walnuts blitz in a food processor, or buy already ground Almond Meal, or Hazelnut Meal from the supermarket.
• Cinnamon and Vanilla:  adds additional flavour and depth and compliments the pumpkin perfectly.  Ground cinnamon works a treat and vanilla essence are what I tend to use, however feel free to use vanilla bean paste, or scrape out a vanilla bean. 

You might also like to check out my Chocolate Sweet Potato Truffles, and these Chocolate Pecan Pie Truffles for a quick and easy decadent sweet treat too! Or maybe these Healthy Snickers with Dates will tempt you!

How To Make

1. Mix wet ingredients:  Place cashew butter into a large bowl, add vanilla extract and cinnamon and combine.

2. Add sweetener and Carrot:  Add powdered monkfruit and grated carrot and mix until smooth. It's important that the carrot is finely grated to achieve a smooth texture.

3. Add Nuts and Coconut Flour:  Add ground pecan nuts and stir until combined. Next, add the coconut flour and use your your hands bring the mixture together into a soft "dough".

4. Roll into balls:  roll the dough into 24 smallish sized balls, or 12 larger balls.   I love to roll the balls in a little coconut flour, or desiccated coconut (not both) and I do a combination of some in each

Recipe Tips

• Carrot:  Use fresh carrots that are firm and crisp.  This is not the recipe to use up soft, spotty and wrinkly carrots.  Using fresh ingredients you can taste makes a difference, especially since carrot is the main ingredient.
• Alternative Spices:  In addition to or instead of ground cinnamon, you may like to add a pinch of ground ginger, or ground nutmeg.  At Christmas, perhaps even a pinch of  ground cloves for a super warming bite of goodness.
• A Chocolate twist:  for something different, melt a sugar free chocolate bar, and dip half the ball into chocolate and let it set, for a chocolate carrot ball.
• A ginger twist:  add a little finely grated fresh ginger for an extra warming flavour.  Also, a little fresh ginger goes a long way and not much is needed to add a big punch of flavour.
• Storage:  store in an air tight container in the fridge for 7 days
• Freezing:  these will keep in the freezer for 12 weeks.  Make sure to store them in an air tight container where they won't get squashed, and label and date them with the used by date.
• Defrosting:  Its best to defrost naturally.  Take them out the night before and put into the fridge if you want to defrost a batch.  Or if defrosting one at a time, remove one, pop into a ziplock bag and let it defrost on the bench.

Looking for an even easier ball recipe? Try these 3 ingredient moist and chewy Peanut Butter Oatmeal Balls.

These carrot cake bites are a great way to get your dessert fix in a small package, and one that is packed with just the right amount of natural sweetness, fiber, and good fats, which means these will keep you fuller for longer and help you to keep those cravings under control.

Enjoy these carrot cake bliss balls for Breakfast, with your morning coffee, as a pre or post workout snack, to ward off the mid afternoon munchies, and as a after dinner treat to satisfy those sweet cravings.

Carrot Cake Bliss Balls

Kim MorrisKim

Make these Carrot Cake Bliss Balls in 10 minutes. They're soft and chewy with hints of cinnamon and vanilla, naturally sweetened with finely grated carrot adding texture and flavour.

5 from 3 votes

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Course Dessert

Servings 24 balls

Calories 113 kcal

Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 0 minutes mins

Total Time 20 minutes mins

Ingredients

 

½x1x2x3x

• ▢ 1 cup Cashew butter
• ▢ ⅓ cup + 1 tablespoon coconut flour
• ▢ 2 tablespoons Powdered monkfruit sweetener
• ▢ ½ teaspoon Vanilla extract
• ▢ 1 teaspoon Gound Cinnamon
• ▢ 1 cup Finely grated carrot - 2 regular carrots
• ▢ 1 cup Ground pecan nuts

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

 

• Place cashew butter into a large bowl, add vanilla extract and cinnamon and combine.
• Add powdered monkfruit and grated carrot and mix until smooth. It's important that the carrot is finely grated to acheive a smooth texture.
• Add ground pecan nuts (I process 1 ¼ cup nuts in the food processor for 2 minutes) and stir until combined. Then add the coconut flour and knead with your hands to achieve a soft "dough".
• Finally, roll the dough into 24 balls. Optional: coat the balls with coconut flour, or shredded coconut.

Notes

1. Cashew Butter: cashew nut butter is rich, thick and creamy and works wonderfully in this recipe, not only to help hold the balls together, but to also allow the gentle sweetness of the carrots to come through.  Alternatively you could use a creamy Almond Butter for the same effect.  Using a creamy peanut butter is another option.
2. Carrot: make sure to peel your carrots first to remove the tough outer skin.  Ideally the carrots should be finely grated so that they can be more evenly distributed throughout the mixtures.  A box grater will get the job done, using one of the smaller grate sides as opposed to the more commonly use bigger grate for grating cheese.
3. Coconut Flour: coconut flour helps to give the balls body and substance and packs out the bliss balls with fibre.  Alternatively you could use almond flour, that is the type that has been finely ground as opposed to almond meal with is grittier.  It's the flour consistency that helps to bring the balls together to give them their shape.
4. Powdered Monkfruit: My preferred sweetener is monkfruit which measures like sugar.  Powdered monkfruit works best in this recipe as it disappears and almost dissolves into the mixture without leaving any grittiness.  You could use finely granulated monkfruit and I don't think it would really be detectable amongst all the other ingredients.  Really any granulated sweetener that measures like sugar can be used, and grinding it with a pestle and mortar to get it as fine as possible would ensure it will be completely undetectable texture-wise.
5. Pecans: Pecans provide a lovely warm nuttiness and earthiness to the bliss balls and just like the coconut flour, provide additional body.  The pecans should be ground using a food processor for best results.  Alternatively you could use Walnuts blitz in a food processor, or buy already ground Almond Meal, or Hazelnut Meal from the supermarket.
6. Storage:  These balls will last deliciously moist in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 7 days.

Nutrition

Calories: 113kcalCarbohydrates: 5gProtein: 2gFat: 10gSaturated Fat: 2gFiber: 1gSugar: 1g

Note: Sugars contained in this recipe are from naturally occurring sugars in fruits, vegetables or other natural sweeteners. Calories have been calculated for your convenience using My Fitness Pal and are based on the ingredients listed in the recipe card.

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