Date Energy Balls Recipe – 4 Ingredient, Healthy, Insanely Tasty Christmas Snack!
These handmade, no-bake, delectable date balls are the perfect sweet, healthy, and chocolatey Christmas, guilt-free indulgence you can easily make in less than 10 minutes for high-vibe and energy fuel after an exhausting day!
These insanely easy date energy balls are gluten-free, dairy-free, without any additional artificial sweeteners such as white or brown sugar, vegetarian, and potentially vegan! They’re also freezer-friendly!
If you are on a journey of cutting out highly processed foods, and high sugar intake, but still need to satisfy your sweet cravings, these super healthy date energy balls are the perfect choice.
Made with only highly nutritious, high in fiber and antioxidants dates, a small amount of unrefined coconut oil, organic sugar-free cacao powder, and the desirable option of nuts – it makes them the ideal sweet guilt-free indulgence with only 4 ingredients and 10 minutes to spare!
ingredients you need
- Medjool dates
- Cacao powder
- Coconut oil
- Nut of choice (walnuts, almonds, hazelnuts…)
Why You’ll Absolutely Love These Date Energy Balls?
- Insanely easy to make (no bake) – These 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 4 ingredients – In order to make these date energy balls you’ll only need 4 main ingredients and approximately 10 minutes to spare! No complicated steps, or a demanding recipe with 10+ ingredients – only 6 large dates, a small amount of coconut oil, desired type of nuts, 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.
- They’re dairy-free and vegan!
Medjool Dates – some of the potential health benefits
They are referred to as “the fruit of kings” because of their chewy texture and sweet, caramel flavor. When Medjool dates were first consumed by royalty, they were believed to prevent exhaustion. These age-old theories about increasing energy may be genuine, according to research. They also include a lot of vitamins and other elements, which may have additional health advantages. (1)
- Additionally, dates with Medjool qualities are a great source of phytonutrients, which are plant-based substances with potential health advantages. According to studies, they can enhance hormone balance, lower inflammation, stop DNA damage, and boost the immune system.
- Natural sugars, fiber, and a variety of vitamins and minerals are abundant in Medjool dates. Similar to other dried fruits, they have a high-calorie content per serving.
- In addition to their many health advantages, Medjool dates include antioxidants and minerals that may reduce your risk of heart disease, improve digestion, and support heart health.
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.
- Add unsweetened, organic dark chocolate as a topping – you can melt a few cubes (depending on the full amount of your date balls) of dark chocolate place them as a topping to your date balls, and serve immediately. The other option is to refrigerate them for an hour, or until the chocolate thickens and freezes, and serve them later!
- Swap the more preferred type of nuts – if you do not have hazelnuts, or simply prefer almonds, walnuts, or another type of nuts, you can substitute them for hazelnuts freely.
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 date energy balls recipe only takes less than 10 minutes to make, and require 4 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 date balls without any baking or complicated steps…
- STEP – the first step for this recipe is to 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); desired type of nuts, coconut oil, and cacao powder 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.
- STEP – measure the 1 tbsp 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.
- STEP – place your rolled 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
Date Energy Balls
Ingredients
- 1 cup hazelnuts (or any other nut of choice: walnuts, almonds…)
- 6 large Medjool dates (pitted, peeled) (or 10-12 smaller ones of other type)
- 2 tbsp cacao powder (organic if possible)
- 1 tsp coconut oil
- 1 banana (optional)
- 1 cube of dark chocolate (grated) (optional)
Instructions
- STEP – the first step for this recipe is to 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); desired type of nuts, coconut oil, and cacao powder 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.
- STEP – measure the 1 tbsp 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.
- STEP – place your rolled date energy balls on a plate and enjoy them immediately, or store them in an airtight container in the fridge for later.
