Bliss Balls: 3 More Ways

Having realised that having a supply of bliss balls in the freezer would be great for bringing out for Christmas treats, I decided to add another 3 recipes to my previous post Bliss Balls: 3 Ways.

Another reason for sharing these recipes is to try to illustrate how many different ingredients you can use for making bliss balls and that you can mix them up to use whatever you have, to make them nut-free or vegan, or to create your own taste sensation. You can use dates or other dried fruit like apricots to stick them together or use coconut oil or nut butters instead. You can include oats or ground almonds if you wish or just stick to seeds, nuts and dried fruit. Whatever combination of seeds, nuts and dried fruits you use is completely up to you. Cacao powder gives a chocolatey yumminess. And of course there are many options for what you choose to roll the tasty balls in: shredded or desiccated coconut, cacao powder, ground almonds, ground flaxseeds, matcha powder, icing sugar, cinnamon, powdered berries – the choice and creativity is all yours.

Caramel Coconut Bliss Balls

1 cup pitted dates (Medjool dates are best as they give more of the caramel flavour but you can just soak ordinary dates in hot water for 5 mins instead)
1 cup blanched almonds (or cashews if you prefer)
1/4 cup desiccated coconut (plus extra for rolling)
Large pinch of sea salt
1/2 tsp vanilla extract (optional but good if you are using ordinary dates)

Add the dates, almonds, coconut and salt to a food processor and pulse until it forms a sticky dough texture (you may have to scrape down the sides). You may wish to blitz the almonds first to get to a smaller size but I like having bigger pieces.

Roll the mixture into bite-sized balls and then into extra coconut.

Store in the fridge or freezer in an airtight container.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Bliss Balls

220g pitted dates (Medjool are best but soak ordinary dates in hot water as above)
70g pecans or walnuts
2 tbsp peanut or other nut butter
2 tbsp cacao powder (plus extra for rolling; I added a tsp of cinnamon)

Blitz the pecans in a food processor for a few seconds until they are mostly chopped.

Add all the remaining ingredients and blitz until the mixture is sticky and well combined.

Roll into bite-sized balls and then into extra cacao powder or other coating of choice.

Store in the fridge or freezer in an airtight container.

Apricot & Cashew Bliss Balls

180g dried apricots
130g raw cashew nuts
1/4 cup rolled oats (or sunflower or other seeds or nuts)
1 tsp vanilla extract
Ground almonds for rolling

Soak apricots in hot water for 5 minutes.

Process all the ingredients in the food processor until well combined and comes together like a dough. If it doesn’t hold together when you press it between your fingers, add some more apricots.

Roll mixture into balls and then roll into your coating of choice. I chose ground almonds so that they would look different from the others.

Store in the fridge or freezer in an airtight container.