Pure bliss

While visiting Edmonton last year I had the good fortune of passing by
Planet Organic Market. Upon dropping in, I had the even "gooder"
fortune of discovering Bliss Balls.

Bliss Balls are the tasty work of New World Natural Foods. Filled with
high quality and nutritious ingredients (e.g. dates, nuts, dark
chocolate), the Balls are decidedly "moore-ish".

Given that these delectable-yet-pretty-good-for-you treats are not

sold where I live, I've been intent on figuring out how to make them
for myself. Or at least make something akin to them.

Here's the result of my experiment.

Homemade Bliss Balls

Ingredients
Insides:

• 9 oz dates or date cake
• 5 oz cashew butter
• 4 oz almond butter
• 1 oz brown sugar
• 1 Tbsp cocoa powder

Coating:

• 5 oz chocolate
• 1 tsp vanilla

(Makes about 27 Bliss Balls.)

Directions

1. Into food processor, add dates, cashew butter, almond butter, sugar and cocoa powder. Pulse (scraping sides with spatula, as needed). Remove blade from processor.
2. Melt chocolate over very low heat. Add vanilla, and just enough water to keep chocolate sufficiently runny to roll the balls in.
3. Form balls, approximately 1" in diameter.
4. Pierce each ball with a toothpick. Roll balls in melted chocolate.
5. Place coated balls on wax-paper-covered plate, leaving toothpicks in. Cover with plastic wrap.
6. Refrigerate until chocolate hardens somewhat. (Lick the spatula while you wait. ;-) )
7. Remove toothpicks, then dollop on melted chocolate to cover the hole. Or add a piece of a broken cashew or almond to cover hole.
8. Store in refrigerator.

In summary, I'm extremely pleased with how my homemade Bliss Balls
turned out. So is everybody who has sampled them: my Mom, husband Fred,
and work colleagues.

See how long yours last!