Nut-Free Cookie Dough Bliss Balls

Cookie Dough Bliss Balls Ingredients

When Mia started school and needed a packed lunch every day, I went out in search of recipes that would suit her Planetbox lunchbox. I knew bliss balls would be an easy win but was surprised to see how many contained nut flour or peanuts – both a big NO in school lunchboxes. I modified this recipe to suit our needs and our love of dark chocolate.

To save time, I highly recommend you invest in an OXO brand cookie scoop, size small. If you’ve been following me for a while, you know I LOVE this kitchen tool and use it for all my meatballs. It works perfectly for this recipe too.

Ingredients:

    • 2 cups of Rolled Oats
    • 3 tbsp shredded coconut (go organic if you can and check the ingredients to be sure it’s 100% coconut)
    • 120g dark chocolate, chopped (we like to use 70% or higher)
    • 1 tsp vanilla extract
    • 5 tbsp water
    • 225g pitted fresh Medjool dates

Method

Rolled Oats in Food Processor

Pop 2 cups of rolled oats into your food processor.

Rolled Oat Powder

Give the oats a good zap in the processor to turn them into a powder. I usually turn my processor on for about 10 seconds.

Add chocolate, coconut, vanilla, water

Add the shredded coconut, vanilla extract, water and the chopped dark chocolate. Be sure the chocolate is chopped up enough so that it doesn’t get caught in your blade and lock up your processor. You can go for milk chocolate but your cookie dough balls will be softer in texture and might not form up as well.

Mix ingredients

You want to mix these ingredients together well before adding the dates so turn on your food processor for about 15-20 seconds to really blend this up.

Add the dates

Next, you need to pit your dates and chop them up. If they are very soft, you can get away without chopping but I usually chop to be sure the dates don’t catch on my blades and lock them up. I can hear all the thermomix people laughing because their blades would never get locked up! One day I will invest in a thermomix, I promise!!

Mason helping in the kitchen

Now you need to find a helper, preferably a tiny human who loves helping in the kitchen. This little guy loves to press buttons so this is the ideal job for him. You’re going to need to run your food processor for ~30 seconds which will seem like forever but you want the blades to do the work for you. Keep watching the bowl until you start to see the “dough” catching on the sides and being pulled around the bowl in a clump. When you see this, you’ll know what I mean! Be patient – give it at least 30 seconds on the process button!!

Cookie scoop

This is what your dough should look like. You can roll balls using a tablespoon scoop but I have to tell you, using this cookie scoop is SO MUCH EASIER! I usually get about 40 balls using this scoop and I don’t have to roll them after – they stay well-formed.

Sneaky Grab
Mason enjoying bliss balls

Well, I usually get 40 balls from this recipe but at least 5 go to this cute little boy who loves to taste test for me… I just can’t say no to him!

storage

Assuming you have some left after your kids attack the batch, you can store these in an air-tight container for up to 7 days. Trust me, they won’t last that long! I use a glass container and separate the layers using parchment paper.