Choc Gingerbread Bliss Balls [vegan, gluten-free, oil free]
Dec 03, 2018 • Updated Jun 20, 2023
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Surprise surprise, another gingerbread recipe! Today I’m sharing this festive recipe for gingerbread bliss balls, or as I like to call them, snow balls. Bliss balls in general are always easy to whip up in 10 minutes or less (depending on how quickly you can roll I guess…). The recipe is modifiable too, so you can really adjust the texture and ingredients to suit your preference. I like to snack on these during the winter with some tea, and they even make a great last-minute recipe for holiday cookie swaps.
The main ingredients for bliss balls are typically nuts, dried fruit like dates, and then additional ingredients to change the flavour up. If you’re allergic to nuts, you can opt to use ingredients like oats instead, and if you don’t like dates you can use other dried fruit like raisins, or figs. Bliss balls are such a great whole food ingredient treat, and they’re amazing if you have a sweet tooth. They also make great pre or post workout treats, or energy bites for long hikes/days.
In today’s recipe, I used almonds, dates and added a little bit of cacao just to make these richer in flavour. I added gingerbread spices of course, and a pinch of salt. When my mixture gets a little dry, which is likely to happen especially if your dried fruits are well… too dry, I like to add a little nut butter or a few tsp of water to help it along. OR, you can soak your dates beforehand to help them soften up. Personally, I like to skip adding coconut oil to my bliss balls, but if you’re working with a really dry mixture, it’s a really easy way to save it when times get desperate! This time, I opted to keep mine a little bit chunkier, to preserve the texture of the crunchy almonds, but you can pulse until the mixture becomes as smooth as your heart desires!
It’s a very basic recipe, and easy to master. Rolling it in coconut just makes it that much more festive in my opinion. Adding gingerbread people for garnish is also optional (but highly recommended). Let’s get into the recipe!
Choc Gingerbread Bliss Balls [vegan, gluten-free, oil free]
Ingredients
- 1 cup raw almonds or any mix of nuts/seeds you prefer*
- 15 soft medjool dates pitted
- 1 1/2 teaspoons raw cacao powder
- 1 teaspoon gingerbread spices*
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- pinch of salt
- optional
- cashew butter or nut butter of choice
- a teaspoon of warm water
- coconut shreds
Instructions
- In a food processor, pulse almonds or nuts of choice until broken down, but not too finely. This will just help break down the nuts a little more easily.
- Add your remaining ingredients and pulse until a sticky dough forms. If the mixture is too wet, add additional nuts, or oats. If the mixture is too dry, add a teaspoon of warm water or nut butter to help the mixture along. Here you can add additional spices if you like it more flavourful as well!
- Roll mixture into small balls and coat with coconut shreds if you'd like.
- Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Notes
*other nuts I recommend are cashews, pecans and walnuts in particular.
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Love & snowballs,
If you liked this recipe, check out more Holiday Cookie recipes, and Gingerbread Oatmeal.
