Coconut Date Balls Recipe ~ Ideal No-Bake Christmas Treat!

These homemade, guilt-free, chocolaty, no-bake coconut date balls are the ideal delicious, healthful, and indulgent Christmas treat you will absolutely become obsessed with! They can be prepared within 10 minutes, giving you the needed energy you need to tackle an intense day!

These very nutritious coconut date energy balls are the ideal option if you’re trying to cut back on sugar and highly processed meals but still need to indulge in the occasional sweet treat.

These bite-sized balls are insanely delicious, delightfully sweet, chewy, and edible! You would never know that this dish contains gluten-free, vegan, and healthful ingredients, and can be prepared in less than 10 minutes!

Made with only highly nutritious, high in fiber and antioxidants dates, a small amount of dark chocolate, desiccated coconut, cacao powder, flour, and orange juice– it makes them the ideal sweet guilt-free indulgence with only 4 ingredients and 10 minutes to spare!

ingredients you need

• Dates
• Cacao powder
• Desiccated coconut
• Flour (oat flour, or white whole wheat)
• Grated dark chocolate
• Orange juice drops

Why You’ll Absolutely Love These Date Energy Balls?

• Insanely easy to make (no bake) – These coconut date energy balls are extremely easy to make, which is the best thing if you’re overly busy, exhausted, and just don’t have the time and will to spend 3 hours in the kitchen to satisfy your sugar cravings!

• Require only 6 ingredients – In order to make these date energy balls you’ll only need 6 main ingredients and approximately 10 minutes to spare! No complicated steps, or a demanding recipe with 10+ ingredients – only 10-12 medium dates, a small amount of dark chocolate, desiccated coconut, flour, orange juice, and organic cacao powder. Quality taste is in simplicity too!

• Ready in less than 10 minutes!

• No toxic artificial sweeteners – Dates contain fructose, a natural kind of sugar present in fruits (2). Because of this, dates have a slight caramel flavor and are quite sweet. Because of their nutrition, fiber content, and antioxidant content, they are an excellent, healthful alternative to white sugar in recipes.

• Extremely nutritious and healthy – In addition to fiber and antioxidants, dates also include a number of vitamins and minerals. They are, nevertheless, heavy in calories due to the fact that they are dried fruit. Coconut provides carbs and protein along with many essential minerals, such as manganese, copper, iron, and selenium.

• They’re dairy-free and vegan!

some of the potential health benefits of the main ingredients used

• Dates – Dates are rich in fiber, antioxidants, and a number of vitamins and minerals. Since they are dried fruit, they do have a lot of calories. Also, dates’ sweet flavor, minerals, fiber, and antioxidants make them a healthier alternative to white sugar in recipes. (1)

• Coconut – Coconut is an excellent option if you’re following a low-carb, paleo, or gluten-free diet because it’s low in carbohydrates and high in fiber and fat. It has antimicrobial properties, strong antioxidants, and may support blood sugar regulation. (2)

• Dark chocolate – Even though it may not be as sweet as regular sugar-rich chocolate, sticking to organic, dark chocolate may bring you many more health benefits! Dark chocolate offers advantages over milk chocolate due to its greater flavanol content and lower sugar and fat levels. Dark chocolate contains a lot of minerals, including zinc, iron, and magnesium. Flavonoids are antioxidants found in dark chocolate cocoa that may offer a variety of health benefits. (3)

Tips And Variations

• Soak the dates in warm water for a couple of minutes – in order for a much easier process of peeling off the date’s skin, the recommendation is to soak them in warm water for a couple of minutes first, so that they can soften and become much easier to peel.

• Use the unsweetened, organic dark chocolate – The Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health advises selecting a bar with 70% cacao or more as your best option because those with lesser percentages of cacao contain more added sugar and unhealthy fats. Furthermore, even if high-quality dark chocolate is a healthier option than milk chocolate, it is still chocolate, which means that it contains a lot of calories and saturated fat. However, bear in mind that the bitterness increases with the quantity of cocoa solids.

• Swap the more preferred type of flour – homemade oat flour is, in my opinion, the cheapest and the easiest healthier flour you can make in basically 2 minutes in your high-speed food processor.

Cacao Powder Vs Cocoa Powder

There is a distinction between “cocoa” and “cacao,” despite the fact that the names are frequently used synonymously. While cocoa refers to the product made after the beans are roasted and finely processed into a powder, raw cacao refers to the substance that is picked from the cacao tree.

To explain it simply and directly, cacao is cocoa in its raw, unprocessed form. Good sources of minerals include cacao-based products like dark chocolate, nibs, and unsweetened cocoa powder. Compared to highly processed variants, cacao products that are raw or slightly processed have less or no added sugar and are higher in antioxidants.

Also, keep in mind that most often cacao powder can be quite expensive compared to cocoa powder because it is in its raw, natural, and healthier form. This recipe will work with cocoa powder too, but I always tend to switch to a much healthier option whenever I can!

How To Make

These coconut date energy balls recipe only takes less than 10 minutes to make, and require 6 main ingredients you probably already have in your kitchen, or can easily get from the nearest farmer’s market! The’s dive into the step-by-step process of how you can easily make these highly energizing and naturally sweetened coconut date balls without any baking or complicated steps…

1. STEP – Start by peeling off the date’s skin, and pitting dates, and grating dark chocolate.

2. STEP – Process all the ingredients – the pitted dates (do not forget to peel off the skin – soak dates previously in warm water for a couple of minutes until they’re tender enough to be easily peeled off); flour, desiccated coconut, grated dark chocolate, cacao powder, sea salt, a few drops of orange juice – to taste (just squeeze orange) in a food processor and process until the mixture is well formed, thickened, and the mixture starts to clump together and can be easily held together when squeezed.

3. STEP – measure the 1 tsp portions of the mixture and use it to form a ball with your hands, rolling them (If the mixture seems to be sticky, grease your palms with a little bit of coconut oil). Repeat the same process until the mixture runs out.

4. STEP – place your rolled coconut date energy balls on a plate and enjoy them immediately, or store them in an airtight container in the fridge for later. Honestly, they’re the best taste when eaten immediately! There’s just something magical in it, don’t ask why xD