Bliss Balls for Birthdays

This recipe is a must for all Mums and Dads and Grandmas and Grandpas. They went down a treat for Clara’s second birthday, although be wary the toddlers don’t consume too many of these datey treats (as they will try to keep eating and eating) if you don’t want too many ‘stonkers’ in the days that follow. I was mindful I wanted our guests to eat homemade food without colourings and any beastly ingredients which may send the party into mania and the Mums into despair. Thanks Marcia Keucke for donating this recipe.

The perfect finger food! These delicious and high-energy confections are great as a snack at home or on the road, or whenever you’re craving something sweet but also healthy. Dates are among nature’s sweetest creations and vitamin rich, too. Almonds and cashews are full of protein. What a great combination. As a bonus, they make a cute gift arranged in mini muffin cups.

Ingredients (serves 5) – I doubled the mixture for 5 adults and 5 toddlers and had 6 to spare.

• 1/2 cup well-packed dates, chopped

• 3/4 cup almonds (I used ground almonds, but Marcia uses whole almonds)

• 3/4 cup dried coconut

• 1/2 cup cashews

• 1/2 Tbsp vanilla extract

• a pinch of sea salt

• extra dried coconut, for rolling

Directions

• In a food processor, process the dates until paste-like, this can take quite a while. Lumps are OK. Transfer the dates into a bowl. I added some maple syrup at this point cos I wasn’t having any luck achieving ‘paste’.

• In the same food-processor bowl, grind the almonds, cashews, coconut and salt together, until broken down but with some texture left.

• Add the dates and vanilla extract, and pulse a few times until the mixture comes together. If your dates were dry and the mixture is not coming together, add a little agave nectar (I didn’t have agave nectar and used maple syrup instead, you could use honey). If it’s too wet, add more dried coconut.

• Roll the mixture into tablespoon-sized balls and roll in dried coconut. Keep refrigerated in a tightly sealed container.