Bliss Balls with Nuts and Cacao

Following on from my post on "That Sugar Book" this wholefood recipe has been floating around the internet for a long time however I haven't made them before today.  My girlfriend has made them and says they are great and I've tasted hers last week so I popped into "Simply Good" which is a bulk bin food store at Alderley to get my ingredients.  I love this store because you can buy a tablespoon of Chia seeds instead of a $10 packet when you only need to use a tablespoon in your recipe.

BLISS BALLS WITH NUTS & CACAO

10-12 pitted medjool dates (I used normal dates)
1 Cup of Nuts of your choice (almonds, cashews or any combination)
2 Tablespoons Cacao
2 heaped Tablespoons of Coconut Oil
1/2 Cup Shredded Coconut
1 Tablespoon Chia Seeds
1 Tablespoon of Pepitas Seeds (recipe called for Hemp Seeds)
Additional Coconut to roll balls in

METHOD

Place all ingredients in a food processor and blend until well combined.

If you have a Thermomix place all ingredients into the Thermomix and blend for 15 seconds on speed 7.
Scrape the sides of the bowl and blend again for a further 15 seconds on speed 7.

Roll into balls and coat in coconut.  I made 22 balls out of this mixture.

Refrigerate for around 1 hour until set and then enjoy.

Best kept in the fridge as they will "melt" once they get too warm.

Bliss Balls can also be stored in the freezer and brought to room temperature to eat.

NOTES

I understand that medjool dates are fresh dates (imagine a soft prune vs a hard date) and are quite expensive.  They can be purchased from the supermarket however I purchased dates from Simply Good as they were going to be blitzed anyway.  I'd imagine they would probably make the texture more wet/soft I might give them a try next time I make these.

The recipe called for Hemp Seeds which I could have purchased from Simply Good but they were in packet and cost $11.50 so I replaced them with the Pepitas Seeds instead.  By the way on the packet of the Hemp Seeds it says "Not for Human Consumption in Australia" which is for legal reasons however I'd just stick to the Pepitas Seeds anyway sounds safer to me.

My Coconut Oil was liquid as it's summer but in winter it is a hard mass like butter so I used 2 tablespoons of the liquid and my balls are dry vs moist (delicious) however I might add another tablespoon of Coconut Oil to the recipe.  They are yummy and healthy and a great chocolate taste/hit in a wholefood way so I will be making these again.  I'm sure James and Sienna will agree with me when they try these treats.  I'm going to put mine in a zip lock bag and into the freezer for an evening treat.

If you were after another variety of wholefood "balls" to make you could try these or these from Eleanor from Petite Kitchen blog in New Zealand.  I haven't made these but anything she makes I think would be a big hit.