Dark 'Nutella' Bliss Balls (raw)

Oh my word. We have fed these babies to several people now, and they have been unanimously voted DELICIOUS!

I had a Varoma demo a few nights ago (my fourth demo in one week), and came home thinking - right, I need to cook something NEW and I need to do it NOW because I am starting to get sick of cooking the same old menu! I also wanted chocolate (surprise!) and had a big hankering for hazelnutty chocolate.

The thing is, the vast majority of hazelnutty chocolatey recipes will call for roasted hazelnuts. Which means that if you want to save money and do everything yourself, you have to roast them and rub the skins off. Can I just say..... YEAH, RIGHT! When I want chocolate, the urge needs to be satisfied immediately. Not after I've roasted, cooled, rubbed, and had a deep and meaningful conversation with my hazelnuts.

These blissful bliss balls do not involve roasting. These are quick, delicious, and instantly gratifying. My biggest tip for this recipe: make them at night like I did, so you can eat heaps of them before little fingers wake up and find them.

 

 

 

Dark 'Nutella' Bliss Balls

Ingredients:

100g hazelnuts (not roasted, and with the skins still clinging on tightly)

150g pitted medjool dates (weight is after seeds are removed)

80g raw cacao powder

25g cold-pressed coconut oil

30g maple syrup or raw honey

50g hazelnuts (optional, see step 3)

Method:

1) Weigh in the first lot of hazelnuts (100g). Mill for 10-15 seconds on speed 9.

2) Add the dates and chop for 10 seconds on speed 7.

3) Add cacao powder, coconut oil, maple syrup/honey, and extra hazelnuts. Combine for 20 seconds on speed 7. Adding extra hazelnuts in at this step will give you some finely chopped hazelnut pieces throughout the balls. If you don't want the nutty pieces, just leave the extra hazelnuts out.

4) Roll into small balls and pop them in the fridge to harden a little. To roll, you will need to squash a small handful of the mixture together tightly before trying to actually roll it into a ball - if you try to roll too early, it will fall apart. So if it falls apart, don't panic - just pack it together more tightly and try again! I'm making it sound harder than it really is, but there you go...


Food Processor Method: If you don't have a Thermomix, you can do these in a food processor. Each step will just take a little longer. Step 1, you're going for an almond meal texture, so stop once you get there! Step 2 & 3 will take a bit longer as well - just process until they will roll easily into balls and stay that way. Take a small amount (2tsp) out and squish it in the palm of your hand to test how well it combines and rolls. If it doesn't quite stick together, just process for a bit longer!


Enjoy!!! :)


What are your favourite bliss ball recipes? Would love to see some links in the comments below.
I like these two as well:
Raw cacao and goji berry bliss balls

Walnut and raw cacao bliss balls

But these Dark Nutella Bliss Balls are definitely my new favourite!!!