Salted Caramel Apricot Bliss Balls

 

These nutritious bliss balls are the perfect healthy snack for when the afternoon sweet cravings kick in.

 

The addition of Medjool dates, cacao butter and flaky salt creates a rich salted caramel flavour, but if you don’t have the cacao butter you can use an extra 2 tablespoons of coconut oil instead. Likewise if Medjool dates are too hard to source you can use plain dates, just be sure to pre-soak them with the apricots.

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It’s worth going to the effort of toasting the thread coconut before coating the balls – this will lend an extra caramel nuttiness. For variety I sometimes coat some of the bliss balls with pure cacao powder so we have a mixture to choose from. 

 

Makes 24 bliss balls 

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Ingredients 

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• ¾ cup / 150 grams organic dried whole apricots 

• 1 cup / 150 grams Brazil nuts 

• ½ cup/ 50 grams walnuts 

• ¾ cup desiccated coconut 

• 6 Medjool dates, pitted or ¾ cup / 100 grams regular dates

• 25 grams cacao butter / 10 – 12 cacao butter buttons  

• 1 tablespoon coconut oil 

• 1 teaspoon flaky salt 

• ½ teaspoon vanilla 

• Juice of 1 small lemon 

• ½ cup thread coconut (to roll the balls) 

 

Method

 

1. Place the apricots into a small bowl and cover with boiling water. Leave to sit for 10 minutes to soften the fruit.  Drain well. If you are using regular dates soak these with the apricots. If you are using Medjool dates you won't need to soak them.

2. Place the nuts and coconut into a food processer and blend until finely ground.  

3. Melt the cacao butter and coconut oil together and add to the food processer along with the drained apricots, Medjool dates or regular dates, salt, vanilla and lemon juice. 

4. Blend until well combined. You may need to use a spatula to scrape down the sides as you go. 

5. Lightly toast the thread coconut in a dry pan, being careful not to burn it. Place on a large plate to let cool – at this point I like to use my fingertips to break up the coconut threads slightly, so the pieces are a bit smaller and more willing to stick to the outside of the fudge balls. 

6. With damp hands roll the apricot mix into small balls and place on the plate of coconut. Roll the balls in the coconut to coat and place in the fridge to harden up. 

7. Store the bliss balls in the fridge or in the freezer for extra chewiness.