Choc Peanut Butter Bliss Balls: The Perfect Healthy-ish Snack

Jfyi, this post may contain affiliate links, because I’m a real-life person with bills to pay. 🙃

If you snack a lot at home, it is time to make these Choc Peanut Butter Bliss Balls with no nasties. 🤭 I’m going to be 100% honest here – I still eat loads of processed food, chips, takeout (although I’ve really cut down a lot)… So, having snacks like these bliss balls helps me balance it all out without feeling like I am missing out on something sweet. I basically pretend they cancel out all the other crap I eat every day…

These are my absolute go-to afternoon treat. Making them has become one of my Sunday arvo rituals where I prep and roll these bliss balls while listening to a good chill out playlist. It’s super therapeutic for me.

Why I love these choc peanut butter bliss balls

• They’re quick and easy. The food processor combines all of ingredients fast, and you just need a little time rolling and coating the bliss balls. But like I said, it’s therapeutic so try it as a digital detox session!
• They’re meal prep friendly. I make a batch of these every weekend in the fridge for the week ahead. They usually save me around the 3pm mark during the week.
• They’re healthy-ish. I say “ish,” because it depends on how much you eat! But at the end of the day, these bliss balls don’t contain and refined sugars so it’s already better than what you’ll find in a plastic wrapper at the shops.
• They’re delicious. When you want something chocolatey or nutty, but don’t want a major processed sugar crash – these will do the trick.
• They’re customisable. You can roll them in coconut, peanuts, both, or whatever else you prefer!

Here are a few extra tips before we dive in, or scroll on down to the recipe.

I’ve used Mayver’s crunchy peanut butter for this recipe, but if you want to totally skip the peanuts, you can simply up the amount of dates used from 1 1/2 cup to 2 cups.

I love using my Breville Kitchen Wizz 9 Food Processor to make these bliss balls. It’s a nice compact food processor for someone like me who doesn’t need to make big batches of food. It also fits on the bottom shelf of my pantry so it doesn’t take up much space.

Recipe: Choc Peanut Butter Bliss Balls (No Bake)

Servings: This recipe makes about 20 to 24 bliss balls, depending on the size of the size. For some reason, I’ve been making 22 with the last one being a bit bigger.

Prep & cook time: Approx. 30-45 minutes. I’m pretty fast at rolling the bliss balls now, but take your time if it’s your first time making these. Here’s a quick breakdown:

• 10 minutes for soaking dates;
• 5-10 minutes for blitzing and mixing ingredients in the food processor; and
• 15-20 minutes for rolling and coating balls.

Ingredients

For bliss balls
1 cup oats

1 & 1/2 cups pitted dates (plus 1/2 cup date water – see step 2 of instructions)

1 & 1/2 cups boiled water

1 cup desiccated coconut

1/2 cup peanut butter (I used Mayver’s crunchy)

1/2 cup pepitas

2 tbsp cocoa/cacao powder

For coating

1/3 – 1/2 cup desiccated coconut

1/3 – 1/2 cup crushed or granulated peanuts

Instructions

Step 1: Soak your dates. Pop the pitted dates into a medium bowl with the boiled water and soak for about 10 minutes. We want the dates (especially the skin) nice and soft.

Step 2: Save the date water. Pour the date water into a container or jar before draining the dates completely. You want to save about 1/2 cup of date water for the bliss balls. The rest of it is like liquid gold – it’s a natural sweetener so drink it!

Step 3: Layer bliss ball ingredients into food processor. Layer all of the dried and wet ingredients into your food processor. Alternatively, you can mix all of the dried ingredients in a big bowl first before adding to the processor.

Step 4: Blitz and mix! Blitz for the first time for about 30 seconds, or until you see the ingredients stuck in the food processor. You’ll mostly likely need to stop and use a spatula to loosen things up. Here’s where you add your first 2-3 tablespoons of reserved date water to the mixture. Then blitz again for another 30 seconds.

Step 5: Find your consistency. If you like more chunky textures in your bliss balls, you can probably stop after the second blitz. You can do a quick test by scooping out some of the mixture and seeing if it sticks together easily to make a ball. I prefer my bliss balls a little smoother in consistency, so I add a about 2-3 more tablespoons of date water and blitz again until the mixture forms one giant, sticky ball.

Step 6: Roll and coat. Roll into golf ball-sized portions (about 3cm wide). Roll half in desiccated coconut and the other half in granulated peanuts for that extra crunch.

Step 7: Store and cool. Store your bliss balls in an airtight container in the fridge. Let them set in the fridge for at least 20-30 minutes, so they’re a little more solid with a good chew.

PSA: Save that date water!

Whatever you do, DO NOT throw away the leftover date water. It’s a fantastic natural sweetener that can be used in a lot of things, including my homemade cashew milk.

These Choc Peanut Butter Bliss Balls usually last about a week in the fridge, but they’re usually gone much faster than that in my home. 😅

Stay tuned for my next post on my homemade cashew milk that does not need straining. It actually uses the leftover date water from this recipe so nothing goes to waste!

Happy snacking!