Extremely delicious, nut-nougat Bliss Balls for the perfect energy in between, vegan and gluten-free. Pithy, nutty and sweetened with healthy, fiber-rich dates.
If dates are very hard, soak in hot water for 30 minutes and strain before processing. For high quality Medjool dates, this step can be ignored as the dates are usually soft enough.
Preheat oven to 175 degrees convection, line with a permanent baking mat or baking paper and spread hazelnuts on top. Put in the oven and roast for 15 minutes. Halfway through the roasting time, check once to see if the nuts are getting too dark. If necessary, turn down the temperature by 10-15 degrees.
NOTE: This step is omitted if using finished, roasted hazelnuts.
Remove hazelnuts from oven, let cool briefly and place in a clean kitchen towel. Rub against each other with your hands to loosen the shell from the nuts. It will not come off completely for all nuts, but partially. It makes sense to have much of the peel removed, as it can taste a bit bitter.
200 g Hazelnuts
Place all ingredients in a food processor (I use my MagiMix here) or high-powered blender and blend until a uniform dough is formed. This should be slightly sticky, but not too dry.
140 g Medijool dates, 200 g Hazelnuts, 100 g dark vegan chocolate
With wet hands, form 18 (more or less depending on your preference) balls (I use a portioning spoon for this). For the best result, alternate pressing and rolling. If too much pressure is applied, the bites will fall apart again. Simply work with a little flair.
Optionally decorate with melted chocolate and chopped hazelnuts.
A little more melted chocolate, Chopped hazelnuts
TIP: Let Bliss Balls soak in the refrigerator for one night, then they become really delicious.
Place remaining balls in a resealable box and store in refrigerator or freezer. In the refrigerator they last about 1 week, in the freezer up to 4 weeks.