Decadent chocolate bliss ball recipe

I've been promising you this chocolate bliss ball recipe since I did my What I ate in a day post during the summer holidays.

I make a batch of these chocolate bliss balls about once a fortnight, because they're delicious and handy for lunchbox fillers. They really hit the sweet spot after a savoury meal, and they're full of nutritious ingredients which make me happy to have the kids eat them.

We ate a lot of them when we were exploring Tiritiri Matangi last week, and I was so glad I'd brought them because they gave us the energy boost we needed on the uphill climb.

My kids didn't used to like bliss balls overly much, until I developed this recipe. Now they're all in love.

The secret ingredient, which has made all the difference, is cacao/cocoa butter. It gives these bliss balls a real chocolatey taste and texture, when mixed with cacao/cocoa powder.

Cacao butter chunks

I usually eyeball the measurements for this recipe, but for you I've tried to measure them out so that you can recreate it. It's pretty forgiving if you've got a little more of this and a little less of that. Generally speaking, I try to go for equal proportions of dates and nuts, and then just throw in whatever else I want.

The base recipe below will give you a basic chocolate bliss ball. You can then add in whatever you like of the optional extras to incorporate more nutrients and flavour to the recipe.

Base recipe

• 2 cups nuts, eg. almonds, cashews, Brazil nuts* or a mixture
• 2 cups pitted dates
• 1/4 cup cacao or cocoa powder
• 2 chunks cacoa or cocoa butter (about 2 tablespoons)
• 1 scoop (3 tablespoons) vanilla protein powder

*Brazil nuts have a somewhat dirt-like flavour that can overwhelm the bliss balls, so I usually just add a few of these for their selenium content, but use another nut for the majority.

Optional extras

• 3 tablespoons chia seeds (for Omega 3 fatty acids)
• 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds (high protein source)
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries (nice flavour)
• 3-4 vitamin C tablets (orange or blackcurrent flavour goes well with the chocolate)
• 3 tablespoons freeze-dried raspberry

Method

1. Place all the ingredients in a food processor or high powered blender and blend until a meal-like texture is formed and the nuts have begun to release their oil.

2. Take a heaped teaspoon of the blended mixture and roll between the palms of your hand to form a ball shape, squeezing together slightly to create a firm ball.

3. Repeat until all the mixture has been shaped into balls. (Recipe makes between 20 and 30 bliss balls.)

4. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to two weeks. 

If you make this recipe, let me know what ingredients you decide to try and how it turns out for you.