Snickers Balls

I am a massive fan of salty-sweet tastes. I love combinations that bring sweet and savoury together (by the way, has anyone else tried dark chocolate chilli? It's the bomb). Which meant that these snickers balls made me one very happy person, as they hit on the salt vs. sweet balance perfectly.

I used the Meridian peanut and coconut butter, which they very kindly sent me, and is going to be launched in the shops in January. In this recipe you can't taste the coconut, but it does give the balls a great texture (as they set better), and apparently coconut oil is great for digestion. If you can't get hold of this in January, or can't wait until its released, then you can definitely use good old peanut butter- chunky or smooth. If you can't get hold of cacao then go for unsweetened dark cocoa powder- cacao is just subject to less of a refining process.

These are incredibly easy to make, you can get hold of all of the ingredients between Holland & Barratt's and any supermarket, they're roughly 80kcal each, and keep in the fridge for up to 4 days. Although everyone in my house wanted to get their hands on these balls, and so they did not last anywhere near as long as that.
 

• 1/2 cup oats
• 3tbsp peanut and coconut butter (feel free to use plain old peanut butter- smooth or chunky.)
• 3/4tsp salt
• 5 Medjool dates
• 1/4 cup coconut milk
• 1/4tsp cinnamon
• 1tbsp cacao (feel free to substitute in regular unsweetened dark cocoa; cacao just tastes a bit richer, and doesn't go through as much of a refining process. I used the Choc Chick cacao powder, which I got at Holland and Barratt's)

• Begin by tearing your dates into chunks, and removing the pit, if it hasn't already been removed. Place into a small dish with the milk, and allow to soak for at least 2-3 hours.
• Throw everything into a food processor, and pulse. Following this continue to blend for longer periods, until it starts to pull together into a loose ball.
• Carefully remove the blade from the food processor, and place to one side. Form into 10 balls, rolling between your fingertips until smooth.
• Place your perfectly spherical balls into the fridge for at least 30 minutes, then dig in... although if you're anything like me, then a lot of the mixture may have gone missing during the making process.

Labels: balls, coconut, dates, desserts, energy balls, Food, meridian, peanut butter, peanut coconut butter, salty, snacks, snickers, sweet