by Ilaria Catizone
These are such a favourite at our place. And the best part? They can be totally customised, made in bulk and frozen.
In order for the bliss balls to work you need something sticky, something bulky and an optional topping.
For the sticky part you can choose, honey, coconut oil, peanut butter, dates or a combination of these. It’s better to find something that will harden when cold, so your bliss balls stay together better. Our favourite sticky ingredient is dates, with a drizzle of honey. Some recipes call for soaked dates but the Medjool dates we found at the Co-op were lovely and juicy – so there was no need to soak them!
For the bulky part you can use any nut meal, rolled oats, coconut flakes or shredded coconut. We like rolled oats and shredded coconut as we are trying to keep the bliss balls nut-free for school lunch boxes.
The topping can be seeds, like sesame or sunflower, shredded coconut, chocolate powder or you can melt some chocolate and dip the blissballs in there. Believe it or not, one of my kids doesn’t like chocolate (!) so we usually keep our bliss balls chocolate-free. I either swirl them in shredded coconut or don’t bother with toppings, but toppings are great to take your bliss balls to the next level for a party.
And the quantities? I hear you ask… I was dreading that question… well it really depends on what combination of ingredients you go for but for us I usually start with:
- 10-12 juicy dates
- ½ to ¾ cup of oats
- 1 tablespoon of liquid sweetener
- ¼ cup of shredded coconut
- I also like to add about 5-6 tablespoons of sunflower seeds for extra binding power.
Blend dry without any extra liquid. Check the consistency. If you can make balls out of the mix, you’re good to go! If it’s too dry add an extra date. If it’s too sticky add or extra oats!
Small bliss balls work best, so go for about twice the size of a grape but no bigger.
Toss in a bowl with your topping of choice and refrigerate or freeze for later… if you can resist!
Tip: If freezing, make sure you keep the bliss balls separate from one another on a tray until they are hard, or you might end up with one huge stuck-together bliss ball!
You can have a look at the Co-op’s full range of ingredients with prices through this page – and you can order online for delivery direct to your door!