Cinnamon Spice Date Balls

Hello dear friends! As expected, keeping this website up is at the bottom of my list of priorities at present. Having just moved house, stripping wallpaper and getting organised are sitting right at the top of the list, whereas writing blog posts is as far down as you can get! And in this tiny little window of time I have, I have already whiled away a huge amount by trying to find a technique which I photographed months ago, only to find that I was hugely dissatisfied with the photos and want to reshoot it. So here is another recipe I’ve been wanting to write up for ages, for Cinnamon Date Balls. This is one of my absolute favourites, along with my Minty Maple Date Balls. The fragrance of the cinnamon is the absolute perfect partner for the Medjool dates, and they are really warming and comforting, as well as filling a sweet little gap until dinner time.

I was talking to a friend today who eats breakfast at 6.30am, then lunch at midday and dinner at 6.30pm, with nothing in between! I found this absolutely astonishing, since I eat breakfast at around 7.45am, but I’m dying for my banana and cup of Earl Grey by 10.30am, and definitely need a snack after the school run, just to keep me going until dinner between 5.30 and 6pm. I then go the rest of the evening without eating, and just have a mug of green tea. I do find it very fascinating how each of our bodies work so differently, and are able to be sustained on much more or much less, entirely depending on the individual. I definitely need a little snack though, and these are just the thing!

Ingredients

• About 15 Medjool dates
• 1 tbsp maple syrup
• 2 tsp cinnamon plus extra for rolling
• 2 tsp raw cacao plus extra for rolling
• 1 heaped tsp coconut oil
• 1 tbsp almond butter
• Handful cacao nibs
• Small handful dessicated coconut

Equipment

Food processor

Method

Put dates, nut butter, coconut oil and maple syrup in a food processor and blitz until combined.

Add cinnamon and raw cacao and blitz again.

Add dessicated coconut and cacao nibs and pulse to combine, without breaking down the nibs too much. You want the balls to be crunchy.

Tip some raw cacao and cinnamon into two small bowls and rolls half the balls in the cacao and the other half in the cinnamon.

Place in an air-tight container and store in the fridge. You’ll want to wait half an hour before eating one, just to allow them to firm up. That shouldn’t stop you from scraping out the food processor and munching the remains though!

These yummy balls will last a good while in the fridge; at least a week and up to two, but just check they are ok if you keep them that long. I would usually have two with a cup of tea in the afternoon, one of each flavour.

I do hope you enjoy this easy but so tasty recipe. Please let me know what you think if you make them.

Thank you for reading, your time is greatly appreciated 🙂

xxx Sam