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Coconut date balls
These luxurious coconut date balls are a bit of a treat! Packed with dates, cherries, candied peel and crushed biscuits. Finished off with a flourish of coconut and a hint of sherry.
Prep Time
40 mins
Total Time
40 mins
Servings: 20 servings (depending on how big you roll the balls)
Calories: 139 kcal
Course:
Dessert , Snacks
Cuisine:
International
Ingredients
- 70 gram butter salted or unsalted
- 110 gram sugar
- 1.5 teaspoons cocoa powder
- 80 gram dates chopped into large chunks
- 80 gram glace cherries halved
- 30 gram candied citrus peel or 'mixed peel'
- 1 tablespoons sherry
- 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
- 200 gram digestive biscuits or other plain biscuit
- 70 gram desiccated coconut
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan, gently melt the butter, sugar and cocoa powder together over a low heat, making sure to stir continuously.
- Once the mixture starts to look foamy and the sugar begins to dissolve, add the dates.
- Continue stirring the mixture with a spoon to prevent sticking. As the dates start to soften, gently break them up slightly with your spoon.
- Next, add the glacé cherries and candied peel to the mixture and stir them through. Let everything cook together for approximately 1 minute, then remove the saucepan from the heat.
- Allow the mixture to cool for about 5 minutes before proceeding.
- While the mixture is cooling, break the egg into a small bowl and whisk it until well beaten.
- Crush the biscuits into pieces that are approximately the size of M&Ms.
- After the 5-minute cooling period, place the saucepan back over low heat and gradually whisk in the beaten egg. Continue to cook the mixture for about 2 minutes, stirring continuously to ensure even cooking and prevent the egg from curdling.
- Add the sherry and vanilla essence and stir through. Remove the saucepan from the heat.
- Mix the crushed biscuits into the date mixture until well combined. Let the mixture cool down a bit before handling.
- Once the mixture has cooled down enough to handle, start rolling it into equal-sized balls. You can make the balls as small or large as you prefer. As a guide, we usually roll ours to the size of small ping pong balls.
- Place the desiccated coconut in a bowl. Take one coconut date ball at a time and roll it in the coconut until it is completely covered. Repeat this process for each ball until they are all coated with coconut.Top tip: After rolling the mixture into balls and coating them with coconut once, repeat the process. Re-roll each ball to perfect its shape and then dip them in the coconut again to achieve a denser covering. This is optional.
Cup of Yum
Nutrition Information
Calories
139kcal
(7%)
Carbohydrates
21g
(7%)
Protein
1g
(2%)
Fat
6g
(9%)
Saturated Fat
4g
(20%)
Polyunsaturated Fat
1g
Monounsaturated Fat
1g
Trans Fat
0.1g
Cholesterol
6mg
(2%)
Sodium
74mg
(3%)
Potassium
66mg
(2%)
Fiber
1g
(4%)
Sugar
14g
(28%)
Vitamin A
76IU
(2%)
Vitamin C
0.1mg
(0%)
Calcium
11mg
(1%)
Iron
1mg
(6%)
Nutrition Facts
Serving: 20servings (depending on how big you roll the balls)
Amount Per Serving
Calories 139
% Daily Value*
| Calories | 139kcal | 7% |
| Carbohydrates | 21g | 7% |
| Protein | 1g | 2% |
| Fat | 6g | 9% |
| Saturated Fat | 4g | 20% |
| Polyunsaturated Fat | 1g | 6% |
| Monounsaturated Fat | 1g | 5% |
| Trans Fat | 0.1g | 5% |
| Cholesterol | 6mg | 2% |
| Sodium | 74mg | 3% |
| Potassium | 66mg | 1% |
| Fiber | 1g | 4% |
| Sugar | 14g | 28% |
| Vitamin A | 76IU | 2% |
| Vitamin C | 0.1mg | 0% |
| Calcium | 11mg | 1% |
| Iron | 1mg | 6% |
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.