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Sunday, January 11, 2026

Best Date Balls Ever!

I have tried many variations on date balls, always seeking one that is easy and reasonably light / light on the blender (don't have a powerful one), doesn't involve any cooking, and uses only things that are not too expensive or fancy and we usually have in stock... and never quite found it...

I bought a pack of dates not long ago, maybe I was thinking about making date square? I hadn't done much with them... Then I noticed there was a recipe for date balls on the side and decided to give it a whirl... 

Perhaps this is the date ball recipe I have been looking for!

150 g / 5.3 oz dates (normal ones, pitted - not medjool), coarsely chopped
100 ml plant milk (used oat)
80 g / 2.8 oz oats
50 g / 1.76 oz desiccated coconut
20 g / 0.7 oz cocoa powder 
additional cocoa powder, desiccated coconut, or freeze-dried fruit powder for rolling
 
Blend dates and plant milk until smooth. Scrape into a medium bowl.
 
Blend oats slightly to break them up, then add to the date mixture along with the coconut and cocoa. Stir well together. 
 
Make balls of a size you like, and roll in something - e.g. cocoa powder, orange zest, desiccated coconut, freeze-dried fruit powder, sesame seeds...
 
 
I did some rolled in freeze-dried strawberry powder (left over from s's birthday cake) - which were a big hit with s; and also some rolled in cocoa powder and some in desiccated coconut. All were good, the strawberry powder was the best.
 
I'd be curious to play with adding ground spices e.g. cinnamon, ginger, cayenne; and also with using nuts/seeds - e.g. sesame seeds; walnuts. I have some blackcurrant powder which was a spontaneous purchase when I bought the strawberry powder - might be good with that as well... Lots of space for variations! 
 
Possibly slightly less plant milk would have been good. Might also be good to figure out a quick n dirty cup measuring version as my scales are in ounces and the amounts are awkward. Apart from that, I really liked this recipe!
 
Edit: I have made these a few times now, as s actually really loved the version with strawberry powder on the outside. The next time I did a mix of blackcurrant and strawberry powder (although the favourite is still strawberry, the blackcurrant powder is not as nice...). Still keen to try a version with a lot of spices and maybe some sesame seeds (toasted? instead of the coconut?). Always seem to be a hit! 
 
The mixture is quite sticky so I rolled them with nitrile gloves on the last time, which I think was a good idea. 
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