Bliss balls are a great gluten-free, dairy-free food. Making your own allows you to pack them full of nourishing ingredients and tweak them to suit your taste.
I’m very relaxed with my measuring when I make a batch of bliss balls. I work to a basic formula of about 2 cups of sticky dried fruit (dates, figs, raisins, apricots etc), 2 cups of nuts/seeds (cashews, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds etc) and several tablespoons of coconut oil. I then throw in whatever else I can find and blitz it up! You’ll love the flexibility of this recipe and I encourage you to play around with whatever you have in your cupboard.
If my blasé attitude to measuring makes you feel anxious(!) or you’re a newbie when it comes to making bliss balls, start with the below recipe. You may wish to halve the quantities to begin with. If you have trouble, please sing out!
Ingredients
- 1 cup of natural cashews
- ½ cup of natural walnuts (or other natural nuts)
- ½ cup of sunflower seeds (pumpkin and sesame seeds are good substitutes)
- 1 cup of dried dates
- 1 cup of raisins (sultanas, dried figs or apricots are good substitutes)
- 3 Tbsp of cocoa powder
- 3 Tbsp of chia seeds (white, black, whole, ground — it doesn’t matter)
- 1 ½ tsps of vanilla essence
- 5 Tbsps of melted coconut oil .
Method
- Place the nuts and seeds into a food processor. Process until finely chopped (the finer the better when it comes to children)
- Add the raisins and dates. Process again until finely chopped
- Add the cocoa powder and chia seeds. Process until mixed
- Add the vanilla essence and coconut oil. Process until mixed
- Press into balls (they will be crumbly, so try pressing gently into shape rather than rolling)
- Place the balls onto a tray lined with baking paper and refrigerate until firm
- Remove from tray and store in an airtight container in the fridge for 2-3 weeks
- Best eaten chilled.
Hints and tips
- The coconut oil will solidify in the fridge, holding the bliss balls together. If they’re too hard to press into balls, add another couple of tablespoons.
- If you’re on a dairy-free diet and thoroughly sick of the taste of coconut (it happens!) then purchase a flavourless coconut oil. Conversely, if you like the taste of coconut, be sure to avoid those that say ‘tasteless’, or ‘neutral flavour’.
- Ground flax seeds may be added instead of chia seeds.
- I often replace some of the cashews with whole ground almonds. This is a good option if your processor isn’t the best at chopping the nuts into tiny bits.
- Leave out the cocoa if you don’t like the taste of chocolate.
- If you’re a coeliac, or following a gluten-free diet, bliss balls are a yummy way to add extra fibre to your day.
If you’d like more information about following a gluten-free and/or dairy-free diet, feel free to get in touch or book a consultation with me.
You can also join my email list and receive my latest articles, updates & advice delivered straight to your inbox. (I send one email per month, tops).