These basic Bliss Balls are easy to make, ready in 5 minutes and packed with healthy ingredients. No oils, no sweeteners, no binders - this beautifully simple recipe has dates, nuts, coconut and vanilla with a pinch of salt. And the delicate caramel flavour is absolutely divine!
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Why you'll love these Bliss Balls?
- No-cook, easy-to-make recipe ready in just 5 minutes.
- Packed with healthy fats, natural sugars, lots of fibre, protein, calcium and potassium.
- Keeps fresh in the fridge for up to a month.
- Great for lunchboxes and post-workout snacks.
- Delicious caramel flavour.
Bliss Balls Ingredients & Substitutions
In winter back in India, dates stuffed with warmed homemade ghee were a favourite mid-morning snack. I remember when I was cramming for the HSC, mum would pop into my room and leave me a bowl of ghee-stuffed dates and a handful of nuts. Dates and nuts were my snack buddies, and they kept me going. These bliss balls are an ode to that mid-morning study ritual. But handier and somehow more delicious.
- Dates are packed with iron and fibre. An excellent source of natural sugar, dates act as the main binder in these bliss balls. Soaking dates in hot boiling water changes their composition completely. They become tender, softer and stickier. When processed with nuts, these dates are enough to bind the bliss balls without needing any further additives like oils. Dates form the base of the bliss balls and have an excellent caramel taste and cannot be replaced or substituted.
- Nuts are packed with healthy fats and protein. I use a combination of almonds and cashew nuts for this recipe. Both of these nuts have the highest amount of protein per 100g. This helps bulk up the bliss balls nicely with protein for that post-workout energy boost. I often substitute cashew nuts with other creamy, buttery, white nuts like macadamia or Brazil nuts.
- Coconut is an incredibly rich source of fibre. It also adds a lovely flavour and texture to these bliss balls.
- Vanilla - I use pure vanilla extract for this recipe; it gives the bliss balls a flavour boost.
- Salt - Pink Himalayan salt helps balance the sweetness of these bliss balls while adding a tiny boost of healthy nutrients.
In this bliss ball recipe, for instance,
Why I don't add coconut oil to my Bliss Balls?
I don't like adding coconut oil to my bliss balls or vegan treats because the taste overpowers everything else. And one doesn't need the added cholesterol (Coconut oil has been known to increase LDL - the bad cholesterol- and has six times the amount of saturated fats as other oils). In fact, if you are clever about the way you cook and create in the kitchen, you can keep things simple; something I have discovered over the years from experimentation.
Recipe
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Ingredients
- 1 cup (155 g) pitted dates
- ½ cup (75 g) raw almonds
- ½ cup (75 g) raw macadamia nuts
- ¼ cup (25 g) desiccated coconut
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Pinch of salt
Instructions
- Soak dates in boiling hot water for 10 minutes. Drain and squeeze lightly.
- Add dates, almonds, macadamias, coconut, vanilla and salt to a small food processor.
- Process until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.
- Scoop mixture into a bowl. Take a tablespoon of mixture in the palm of your hand and gently roll it into a ball. Repeat with the remaining mixture.
- Store bliss balls in an air-tight glass container in a cool corner of your kitchen for up to a week.
I've been buying these types of little balls until now, so silly! I just tried this recipe, so quick and so yum - I pinched one before my toddler got to them ! Rolled them in a bit of extra dessicated coconut. YUM
Very nice energy bites! I am going to give them to a family with a new baby and a toddler. One handed foods are the go-to for those families. Thanks for a great recipe!
Love the look of this recipe! Totally agree with your comments on coconut oil. Because we are soaking the dates can we use good old cheap dried dates??
Yes! Absolutely! they will soften right up 🙂 x