![Energy ball recipe. [Clean.]](https://i0.wp.com/featherfiles.aviary.com/2013-07-17/f77694d11/7a2a252a6dc34502bbbdd08cb2dc4c33_hires.png "Energy ball recipe. [Clean.]")
I'ts been a very long time since I shared this reacipe with you.
And with summer in full swing, many of us are hitting the road on adventures of all kinds.
Make a batch of these before your next road trip, hike, or outing and you'll be so glad you did.
They are GAPS legal, Paleo, vegan, and raw. And they're also insanely good.
Call
them Date Balls. Peanut Butter Balls.
I-don't-want-to-pay-for-a-lara-bar-Balls.
Toddler-Meltdown-Prevention-Insurance.
Whatever you nickname them, this
simple combination of dried fruit and nuts is protein packed, sweet,
portable, and yummy.
And so easy to make, you'll never buy a packaged
snack bar again.
So here is a basic recipe for you. Make this batch once, then tweak the ingredients to make new combinations. (Variations are at the bottom of the post.)
This recipe works with raw nuts or soaked/sprouted/deyhdrated nuts. It's up to you!
Homemade Energy Ball Recipe
Ingredients
1/3 C nuts or seeds – any type (I used Brazil nuts here but normally use soaked, dehydrated almonds, pecans, or cashews)
1/2 C pitted dates
1/3 C nut or seed butter – any type
1/4 C dried coconut flakes
pinch of celtic sea salt
How-to
Place nuts in food processor and turn on. (It's painfully loud. Your daughter will cover her ears. Mine does anyway. So will your son.)
When they look like the photo below they are plenty chopped. Transfer to a bowl.
(If
you choose cashews or peanuts your nut powder will be oilier than the
Brazil nuts shown below. That's okay. Just go for finely chopped, just
this side of becoming nut butter.)
![Energy ball recipe. [Clean.]](https://i0.wp.com/featherfiles.aviary.com/2013-07-17/f77694d11/177c4e2493bf4772ba8df699dc0343b6_hires.png "Energy ball recipe. [Clean.]")
Repeat
ear covering noisy chopping with dates.
Do pit them before you chop or
it will be regrettable.
Process until they look at least this chopped. More chopped is great as well and will yield a big smooth sticky ball of dates.
![Energy ball recipe. [Clean.]](https://i0.wp.com/featherfiles.aviary.com/2013-07-17/f77694d11/bb9bb54198c041798c046e050a60626f_hires.png "Energy ball recipe. [Clean.]")
Return
the nuts to the food processor with the dates and continue chopping
until the mixture is uniform.
Add nut or seed butter.
Turn on machine and
process for a minute until it is well combined.
If it sticks to the side
of the food processor turn it off, open and move it around a bit with a
spoon. Then have at it again. It should look similar to the photo
below.
Add dried coconut, and briefly run food processor to combine. (You can toast the coconut first for even more flavor, or just add it raw.)
![Energy ball recipe. [Clean.]](https://i0.wp.com/featherfiles.aviary.com/2013-07-17/f77694d11/9335f5cb3bd04ef08999dd00e055e966_hires.png "Energy ball recipe. [Clean.]")
This
is the best part for my kids (perhaps because I have finally shut off
that painfully loud food processor, but likely because it is so
tactile.) Take approximately 1 Tb. pinches of the "dough", roll into
balls with clean hands.
Alternatively you can make "cookies" by pressing
the balls flat between your balms, or make bars by pressing into a small rectangular glass
pan and cutting with a spatula.
Balls are quick, easy, and portable, so that's our method of choice.
We drop these into a mason jar or bento box and away we go!
![Energy ball recipe. [Clean.]](https://i0.wp.com/featherfiles.aviary.com/2013-07-17/f77694d11/953209e961854d359238d5a114cb50bd_hires.png "Energy ball recipe. [Clean.]")
Ready to take it up a notch?
Try any of the flavors below!
Peanut or Almond Butter Cookie (dates, hazelnuts or Brazil nuts, peanut or almond butter, and optional carob or chocolate chips)
Cherry Pistachio (dates, pistachios, almond butter and dried tart cherries)
Cinnamon Apple (dates, almonds, tahini, and 1 tsp cinnamon)
Chili Chocolate (dates, almond butter, almonds, a pinch of chili powder and 2 tsp cocoa powder)
Cashew Goji (dates, cashew butter, cashews, and goji berries rolled in coconut)
Chai (dates, cashews, cashew butter, 1/2 tsp each ground cinnamon and cardamon, and a pinch each clover and black pepper)
What flavor combinations can you dream up?
Sounds Dee-lish! I already have all the ingredients in my pantry and the recipe is calling our name. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for this, I love the recipe’s dietary credentials AND the fact they’re so portable!
Also, this >> “Do pit them before you chop or it will be regrettable” is a perfect example of why I love reading your blog. So. Much.
Enjoy!
Thanks, Charlotte.
We make a killer cranberry ginger spice version. Dried cranberries, a few bits of organic candied ginger, cardamom and vanilla. And a brownie version, with raw cacao and organic chocolate chips — Both so good! Thanks for reminding me. They’ll be great for our trip to Maine this weekend, along with a few jars of your nettle chai!
Mmmm, I want to try it!
I want to make these this afternoon! So if we make the Peanut Butter Cookie version, are we leaving out the coconut?
So funny. We just finished making these from the recipe you posted several years ago. Today we used dried cherries, almonds, dates and coconut. Yum!!
Its up to you! I usually do but you could do a monster PB cookie variation with coconut, chopped walnuts, and chocolate chips. Yum!
Yum! Sounds perfect.
Sounds great! Glad you enjoy them.
And what funny timing!
ok doing this! gotta get me a food processor!
These are so good! I split the mixture and made half with coconut and half with chocolate chips! Both are delicious 🙂