Minty Maple Date Balls

Hello dear foodie friends. I must say, today is not the best for such a recipe as this. I am sitting at my dining table wrapped in a shawl and shivering because I haven’t got round to putting any logs on the fire yet, and I’m thinking that a recipe of the sort I published last week  would be far more appropriate! Come to think of it, I’m sure that post began with a little weather-related missive too. How very British of me!

You may recall how pleased I was at how easily I slipped back into a pleasant routine of healthy eating after the Christmas holidays, and that I was consuming copious amounts of fruit and vegetables. However, after a couple of weeks I began to crave something a little sweeter after regaining my balance, and the other week I had a very successful experiment with some Aldi Paleo bar-inspired, date and nut… err… bars! I ended up publishing that as a super simple recipe on my Facebook page, so if you like the sound of that, please click here to get there (I do plan to publish that here at some point too, so watch this space). Today though, I have a date ball recipe from quite a while before Christmas, which I’ve made and adapted with alternative ingredients quite a few times since, and which I absolutely love! These yummy little balls are so perfectly sized to make a couple of them the best afternoon sweet boost, and a perfect with a hot drink of your choice.

Ingredients

• One standard tray of Medjool dates (10 -12ish)
• 1 tbsp maple syrup
• 70g almond butter (preferably homemade)
• Large handful fresh mint leaves (a few more than in my photo; I was a bit short!)
• 1 tsp coconut oil
• 1 tbsp raw cacao
• 1 tbsp maple syrup
• Cacao nibs (for coating balls)

Equipment

• Food processor

Method

Pit dates and halve, before adding to food processor. Blitz until thoroughly combined then add all remaining ingredients bar the cacao nibs. Blitz again until well combined.

Pit dates and halve, before adding to food processor. Blitz until thoroughly combined then add all remaining ingredients bar the cacao nibs. Blitz again until well combined.

Taking (very) heaped teaspoons of the mixture, form into 10 balls by hand then place on a flat surface. Pour some cacao nibs and remaining raw cacao into a couple of small bowls then roll 1/3 of the balls in the cacao, 1/3 in the nibs and keep 1/3 plain. Enjoy!

Store the balls in a sealed tupperware container in the fridge. They will keep for at least a week.

These yummy little balls are actually really refreshing due to the addition of mint, and at the same time totally satisfy a sweet craving. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do. In fact, I think I might just make some now, before I depart into the bleak January afternoon for the school run!

Thank you so much and please enjoy!

xxx Sam