Coconut Date Balls Recipe

If you just need a bite of something sweet in your life, why not try one or two of these Paleo-friendly treats? They’re great to throw into your lunchbox as an antidote to 3 pm junk food cravings, but they’re also perfect as party snacks or desserts for a special occasion.

Just to be clear: this is candy. The fact that you’re using honey and dates for the sugar instead of table sugar or corn syrup doesn’t change that. If you make 30 balls with the recipe and eat two of them for a snack or dessert, you’ll be getting 17 grams of sugar - that’s more than you’d get from a cup of Froot Loops.

Of course, the difference is that with homemade candy, at least you’re in charge of all the ingredients, so you can leave out the dangerous gut irritants and inflammatory junk oils that you'd get in store-bought candy.

That makes the homemade version perfectly fine as a special treat: healthy metabolisms can handle that much sugar in occasional doses.

If you’re trying to gain weight, it might even be a benefit! Just don’t convince yourself that a plate of Paleo candy is somehow a great substitute for eating a real lunch when you’re hungry or that any kind of dessert is a great idea to have every day.

You can use any combination of your favorite nuts for the mixture: macadamias are the best choice from a nutritional standpoint, but it’s not such a big deal for an occasional treat when you’re eating a pretty small amount of nuts anyway – if you’ve got a favorite trail mix, this is a fun way to transform it into something new and special.

Coconut Date Balls Recipe

SERVES: 4 PREP: 15 min COOK: 5 min

Ingredients

• 1 cup dates, roughly chopped
• 2 eggs, beaten
• ½ cup. raw honey
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• ¼ cup ghee
• 2 cups mixed nuts, chopped small
• 1 cup coconut flakes
• ½ tsp. sea salt

Preparation

1. Combine the eggs, ghee, raw honey, and dates in a medium saucepan placed over medium heat.
2. Bring everything to a boil, occasionally stirring, for 3 to 5 minutes.
3. Remove from the heat, stir in the vanilla, and add in the sea salt.
4. Mix in the chopped nuts and stir until well combined.
5. Roll the mixture into small balls.
6. Roll each ball in the coconut flakes until well-covered.
7. Refrigerate until firm.

Coconut Date Balls Recipe

If you need something sweet without a bunch of junk ingredients, try these easy coconut-covered date balls.

5 from 1 vote

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Prep Time 15 mins

Cook Time 5 mins

Total Time 20 mins

Course Appetizer

Cuisine American

Servings 4 people

Calories 895 kcal

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 1 cup dates roughly chopped
• 2 eggs beaten
• ½ cup. raw honey
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• ¼ cup ghee
• 2 cups mixed nuts chopped small
• 1 cup coconut flakes
• ½ tsp. sea salt

Instructions

 

• Combine the eggs, ghee, raw honey, and dates in a medium saucepan placed over medium heat.
  2 eggs, ½ cup. raw honey, ¼ cup ghee, 1 cup dates
• Bring everything to a boil, occasionally stirring, for 3 to 5 minutes.
• Remove from the heat, stir in the vanilla, and add in the sea salt.
  1 tsp. vanilla extract, ½ tsp. sea salt
• Mix in the chopped nuts and stir until well combined.
  2 cups mixed nuts
• Roll the mixture into small balls.
• Roll each ball in the coconut flakes until well-covered.
  1 cup coconut flakes
• Refrigerate until firm.

Nutrition

Calories: 895kcalCarbohydrates: 76gProtein: 18gFat: 64gSaturated Fat: 25gPolyunsaturated Fat: 9gMonounsaturated Fat: 27gTrans Fat: 0.01gCholesterol: 111mgSodium: 289mgPotassium: 834mgFiber: 13gSugar: 49gVitamin A: 133IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 85mgIron: 4mg

Keyword balls, coconut, date

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