Sukha Balls Recipe

Sukha Balls

Sukha is a Sanskrit word meaning joy, pleasure, ease, bliss. These delicious balls have earned their title and I'm sure you'll agree when you try them yourself. The great thing about this recipe is its kaleidoscopic nature as they can evolve according to your taste. See below the Tips and Alternatives for ideas about how to make them your own version of Sukha. 

Enjoy! 
 

Ingredients

• 1 cup medjool dates

• 1 ½ cup plain oats

• 1 tsp coconut oil

• 1 tsp ground cinnamon

• ¼ tsp ground or grated nutmeg

•  1 ½ tbsp ground raw cacao

• 3 tbsp nut butter of preference (see below for suggestions)

• 1-2 tbsp seeds

• Approx ¼ cup of desiccated coconut

Preparation method

• With a food blender: place dates and seeds in blender and combine

• Without a food blender: finely chop dates and mix with the seeds in a small bowl

• Combine coconut oil, cinnamon and nutmeg in a medium-sized bowl

• Add nut butter and cacao and mix with a metal spoon so powder is incorporated into the nut butter

• Add the date mix to the nut butter mix and add oats

• Combine with a metal spoon until all of the oats are incorporated

• Taste!! Check if you need to add more spices for flavour or more dates for sweetness or more cacao for bitterness. Add accordingly!!

• Put coconut into a bowl

• With your hands, roll the mix into wee balls and then roll the balls in the coconut and place in a Tupperware

• You may at this point find that they need more oats to dry out the mix, or more nut butter to help the mix stick together better. Add accordingly and combine well with a metal spoon

• Store in the fridge but they are best eaten when they are not too cold.

Tips and alternatives

• Nut butter: Only use pure fresh nut butter with no added anything!!
  Peanut butter is cheaper!
  Crunchy peanut butter adds a great crunchy texture
  Cashew is luxuriously creamy and amazing
  Almond is smooth tasting and soothing
  Macademia is just blinking scrummy and quite intensely creamy
  Hazelnut complements cacao and give a nutella taste
  A combination of two or three nut butters is ideal

• Tahini (sesame seed paste) also works but don’t use too much as it tastes bitter
  Seeds can be left out if you want a smoother consistency. Any seeds work: sesame and sunflower are my faves. If you’re using a blender then pumpkin and other bigger seeds can be used.

• Leave out the oats and replace with just a table spoon or so of almond meal to make totally decadent ganache-type balls.

• Add any flavourings or bits that make you happy: vanilla essence, orange zest and essence, chilli, ginger, pistachios. doTERRA Essential Oils make for delicious and health-giving additions. Try Wild Orange, Ginger, Cinnamon or Lavender. 

• If you can’t get delicious goopy medjool dates then regular dried dates work but soak them in a little hot water first and use with the water.

• Use dates with other dried fruit for alternative flavour/fruitiness: eg dried figs, raisins, apricots.

I always make these with an intention: eg a person for whom I’m making them, and I keep that person - what makes them smile - in mind, as I adapt and modify the ingredients.