Moreish peanut butter date balls with just a hint of chilli

These little date balls with a kick of chilli (that look like poo but are not, in actual fact, poo) are utterly delicious. They are quite a healthy snack choice too. Do not judge a date ball by its appearance.

My husband came up with this recipe in the way that all recipes are landed by husbands: he threw a few things into a blender and hit go. Then he called me when the balls weren’t sticky enough and I told him to add a couple more dates and a dash of olive oil and he was done.

That’s how simple these date balls are to put together. Sorry, despite being full of goodness and great on the go, hey are no good for the lunchbox as they contain nuts. To be honest, they probably wouldn’t last long enough to make it into the lunchbox anyway.

These date balls taste caramelly with a melty texture and are very moreish, like chocolate… be warned! You can leave out the chilli if your kids aren’t into chilli (though I find a little snack like this is a great introduction to the hot stuff). If you can resist eating the lot in one go, they freeze beautifully for up to a month.

Try this recipe too:Old-fashioned ginger biscuits

Peanut and date balls with chilli

Makes 10 balls
Takes 10 minutes, tops

•  4tbs crunchy peanut butter
•  About 10 dates, chopped (see notes)
•  30g coconut, shredded or dessicated
•  Splash of olive oil
•  1tbs macca powder (optional, but nice and malty)
•  1 tsp chilli powder (optional, but adds a great kick)

Put everything into a food processor and blitz until fully combined. The mix will pull away from the sides of the mixer when ready.

If you find the mix a bit crumbly, add another date or two and a tiny bit more oil and blitz again.

Roll into balls – I make mine approximately 28g per ball, but you may not care to spend time weighing date balls and that’s okay. Any size ball will do. Lay each ball onto a baking tray lined with baking paper.

Pop into the fridge uncovered for about an hour and enjoy.

Store in a jar in the fridge for up to a week or put into a freezer-safe container and freeze for up to a month.

Notes

We use cheap-ass no-name dates, so if you use Meejool you will need about half the number of dates.

If you’re using chilli, add as much or as little as you like. I like a pinch, my husband likes a tablespoon.

You can roll your balls in desiccated coconut before refrigerating, but we never bother. The heat-loving hubs sometimes rolls his in chilli powder, but that’s a solid no from me.

Play with the flavour: add some chocolate nibs, or a spoon of strawberry jam, or grate in some lemon zest. Experimenting is fun.

Do you reckon you’ll add the chilli into these date balls?