Christmas Coconut Chocolate Date Balls

So let me just say, that this recipe has been passed on from my own mum (besides the choc chips, that's an added Britt flavour 😂 ), and it is such a great, easy recipe that you can whip up in under 15 minutes, and have ready to eat in like 30 minutes.

Why Date Balls?

Date balls are a great source of energy, and having a combination of dates, almonds and coconut is amazing for your stomach and digestion. Having a jar of date balls in the fridge is a good way to ensure you or your family have access to a small, healthy snack at all times. I find (especially during this festive season) it is best to have Christmassy snacks hanging around in the house that are healthy and nutritional for you, because let's get real, a jar of Quality Street chocolate would be amazing, but HIGHLY detrimental, well at least to me!

I will 100% still be making Christmas sugar cookies closer to Christmas day, and having those replace my date ball jar, but for the time being and for as long as possible, I want the healthiest option of festive snacks around me to help me stay on track.

Date Ball Recipe:

INGREDIENTS:

• 25 pitted dates

• 3/4 cup desiccated coconut

• handful of almonds

• 3 tbsp dark chocolate chips

METHOD:

First, put all your dates in a bowl and pour some hot water over them. Let them soak in the water for about 5mins, or until they are very soft.

Pour the softened dates into your blender of choice (try not to add the water, it may make it too sticky!) and blend them up.

Add your almonds to the blender and blitz them up with the date mixture. You should have a soft 'dough-like' date mixture. If the mixture is too sticky, add some more almonds, or even a tbsp of almond flour. Then just stir in your chocolate chips.

Roll the date mixture in your hands and form medium sized balls (I get about 10 date balls out of it)

Set your rolled date mixture in the fridge for about 10mins to harden up slightly and cool down.

Once chilled, roll each ball in your desiccated coconut, coating them all over (make sure it looks like a snowball, that's important for the festive look 😉 ).

Place your little snowballs into the fridge again for 30mins to harden up. Once the 30mins is up you can pop the balls into a jar, and slap a ribbon on and you are good to go!