I don’t know about you, but I’ve recently realized that my mom duties include being a full-time chauffeur now that I have a school-aged child. Having to rush out the door multiple times each day can make it difficult to plan and prepare nutritious snacks, and the packaged bars almost always have something gross in them (whey powder! palm oil! Ew.).
Once a week I try to let Abby help me make a snack that will last a few days and get her excited about being in the kitchen. Enter, bliss balls! Abby loves coming up with new flavors to try, and so far my favorites are these Blueberry Muffin Bliss Balls!
Abby was very proud of her chocolate mint bliss balls (recipe on Instagram).
Bliss balls are great because they are no-bake, dense little snacks that are super satisfying and packed with nutrition. I keep them in the fridge because I like them a little chewy. Sometimes I grab one or two and eat them in the car on the way to pick up Abby, or if I don’t have time for breakfast. They’re also great as an after-workout snack because they contain protein and natural sugars.
There are two key ingredients that give these blueberry muffin bliss balls their delicious blueberry muffin flavor — dried blueberries and blueberry extract. I used dried blueberries from Harris Teeter because I had them already, but you can use any kind as long as they’re not freeze-dried. Mine were sweetened, so if you’re trying to avoid added sugars completely, you may need to make your own by spreading fresh blueberries out on a baking sheet and roasting them until they release their juices.
The blueberry extract is not something that is easy to find, but I ordered this kind a year ago and still use it whenever I am baking with blueberries (blueberry bars, donuts, muffins, etc.). A little goes a long way, so the extract will last a super long time. I highly recommend ordering some and keeping it in your pantry, because it takes blueberry recipes to the next level!
- 8-9 medjool dates, pits removed
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼-1/2 teaspoon blueberry extract*
- Pinch sea salt
- Pinch ground cardamom and/or cinnamon
- 3 heaping Tablespoons cashew butter
- ¾ cup almond flour
- ¼ cup coconut flour
- ¼ cup dried blueberries (NOT freeze-dried)
- Place dates, vanilla, blueberry extract, salt, cardamom/cinnamon, 1-2 Tablespoons water, and cashew butter into a food processor and pulse until you have a thick paste.
- Add the almond flour and coconut flour and continue to pulse until completely incorporated and a crumbly dough forms. You may have to scrape down the sides a few times. You are looking for a cookie dough consistency when squeezed with your fingers, so you may have to add more water if it is too dry or more coconut flour if it is too wet.
- Transfer the dough to a bowl or wax paper and knead in the blueberries. Pinch off roughly a Tablespoon amount of dough and roll it in your hands to form a ball and repeat until all of the dough is used. Place in the fridge for an hour to firm up, or eat as-is!
The measurements for the flours are approximate because the moisture in dates varies depending on how old they are. You may have to play with your ratios a bit to find a good dough consistency.
These bliss balls last up to 2 weeks when covered and in the fridge, but they will definitely be gone before then!
Caution: If you make these, you may have kids who come home from school asking for them every day. Consider yourself warned!
♥ ♥ ♥
Also try my Post-Workout Recovery Bites!
Leave a Reply