Chocolate Cacao Bliss Balls
These Cacao Bliss Balls take just minutes to make, contain just 6 ingredients, are free from refined sugars and are perfect for on the go snacks, your work lunchbox, and after dinner munchies.
Servings 16 Balls
Calories 117kcal
Ingredients
- 8 Medjool Dates
- 5 tablespoons Shredded Unsweetened Coconut
- 3 tablespoons Cocoa Powder unsweetened
- 3 tablespoons Cocao nibs
- 3 tablespoons Natural or Sugar Free Peanut Butter
- 1 cup Almonds
Instructions
- Remove seeds from dates
- To soften dates, place deseeded dates into a bowl of boiling water for 5 minutes. Drain the dates and set aside.
- Add the almonds to a food processor and blitz until they resemble a crumb.
- To the food processor, add the coconut, cocao nibs, cocoa powder, peanut butter and softened dates. Blitz the ingredients for 1 to 2 minutes until the mixture comes together.
- Take the blade out of the food processor and roll the mix into 16 balls.
- Store in an air tight container in the fridge for upto 5 days.
Notes
- Medjool Dates: these are the base of the recipe, providing taste, texture and sweetness and they help to bind the balls together. Madjool dates are recommended as the are soft and juicy and have less fiborous skins which means they blend well.
- Cocao Powder: Unsweetened Cocoa powder is best to use as there is plenty of sweetness from the dates. You should be able to find it in the health food aisle of supermarkets (Coles and Woolworths in Australia)
- Cocoa Nibs: these provide a texture in the bliss balls. They have a bitter chocolate flavour and are full of antioxidents. They are great in this recipe to offset the sweetness from the dates and coconut.
- Shredded Coconut: the coconut is for flavour and texture and helps to add moisture to the balls. Desicated coconut will also work.
- Natural Peanut Butter: this is to help bind the balls together and for taste and flavour. Smooth or crunchy peanut butter works, but do make sure to check the label to make sure there's no added sugar
- Almonds: any type of almonds will work - toasted or untoasted. If you buy the toasted almonds, you;ll get a more earthy flavour in your bliss ball which I find quite nice.
- Getting the right consistency: These Cocao Bliss Balls won’t need any extra moisture to bind the ingredients. The dates and peanut butter are enough. Just make sure to soften the dates in hot water before hand and remove any excess moisture.
- Rolling the Balls: use damp (not wet) hands to avoid the mixture sticking and lumping on your hands. You might need to clean and wash, then lightly dampen your hands a couple of times to get clean round balls.
- Storage: To make sure your Cacao Bliss Balls stay as fresh as possible, it’s ideal to store them in an air tight container in the fridge if you live in a hot area, or on the counter if in a cooler climate.
- Freezing: Freeze them in a plastic or glass container for upto 8 weeks. To defrost, let it come to room temperature naturally, or put container into the fridge overnight so they thaw out.
Nutrition
Calories: 117kcal | Carbohydrates: 13g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 8g