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A plate full of chocolate energy balls.

Cacao Hazelnut Energy Balls

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 1 review
  • Author: Deryn Macey
  • Prep Time: 15 mins
  • Cook Time: 15 mins
  • Total Time: 30 minutes
  • Yield: 14 balls
  • Category: Snack
  • Method: Food Processor
  • Cuisine: Vegan

Description

These delicious, sweet and soft energy balls feature 4 simple ingredients: hazelnuts, almond butter, cacao nibs and dates. With no added sugar or oil, these delicious bites are perfect for a healthy snack or dessert.


Ingredients

  • 1 cup (220 g) packed, pitted dates
  • 1 cup (145 g) hazelnuts or filberts
  • 1/2 cup (65 g) cacao nibs
  • 1 tbsp (15 g) almond butter
  • 1/2 tsp fleur de sel (or any good quality sea salt), optional

Instructions

  1. Place dates in a bowl, cover with hot water and soak for 15 minutes (if using soft and moist medjool dates, you can skip soaking). Drain well. It’s okay if they’re a bit wet when you add them to the food processor. Just be sure to drain off all the excess water.
  2. While the dates are soaking, add the cacao nibs and hazelnuts to a food processor and process on high for about 30 seconds until it resembles a coarse, grainy meal.
  3. Add the almond butter and soaked, drained dates to the food processor with the hazelnut cacao mixture and mix into a thick, sticky dough. If the dough isn’t sticking together, add 1-2 tsp warm water and process until it does, however, if you soaked the dates it should be perfect.
  4. Roll the dough into 14 balls. Store in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 1 week or freezer for up to 3 months.

Notes

If you don’t like cacao nibs on their own, this may not be the recipe for you as they have quite a strong cacao flavour. If you do like cacao nibs, you will love them paired with the sweet dates, hazelnuts and sea salt