What I love nowadays is the search for healthy and nutritious ingredients in our desserts and foods. Some of these ingredients were used to be very common in the past days but now are forgotten and considered to be outdated. One of these ingredients are the dates. A lot of people when are thinking about dates, they maybe think of a grandmother serving them (do not worry, me too!). However, dates instead of being just a very sweet dried fruit, they are also very nutritious with many health benefits. Some of them are that they are high in fiber and high in disease-fighting antioxidants (you can get more information about the dates here) and of course they are an excellent natural sweetener. Moreover their texture make them an excellent base for these energy balls along with many no-bake desserts.

These energy balls are really quick and easy to make. Τhey need just a food processor and they are ready in 5'! The basis for these energy balls are the dates along with nuts of your choice. I like to use white almonds and hazelnuts, but feel free to use whatever nut you like, such as walnuts, cashews. peanuts or pistachios. For flavouring these chocolate-orange energy balls I used good quality of cocoa powder to ensure reach chocolate flavour and orange juice along with orange zest. Make sure to use organic unwaxed oranges for ensuring intense orange flavour. Rinse the oranges well with water and dry them with a paper towel before grating them and get their zest (the outer orange part of the orange). Make sure not to grate the white part of the orange, since it is bitter. The rest ingredients are used for offering the proper texture and taste of these energy balls: the almond butter is used for ensuring smoother texture and better blending, the honey as an extra sweetener and the shredded coconut (or coconut flour) for making the dough less sticky and add a fine coconut flavour. Regarding the almond butter, you could use another nut butter, but this will affect the final flavour of your energy balls (I would say that the almond butter is the nut butter with the more neutral flavour).

For making these energy balls start by adding the dates along with the almonds and the hazelnuts in the food processor. Process on high until they form a wet sandy texture and the nuts have blended into tiny pieces.

Add the remaining ingredients: the cocoa powder, the almond butter, the orange juice and zest, the honey and the shredded coconut (or coconut flour) and and process on high until you get a uniform dough. If the dough is very sticky add a little bit more shredded coconut or coconut flour and blend again.

To form the energy balls, I like to wear gloves. Use your hands to form small balls of a size of a walnut (about 3cm - 1"). I like to toss the energy balls into raw cocoa powder or in shredded coconut. In a small bowl add a full tablespoon of cocoa powder or shredded coconut and gently roll the ball into it until fully covered with the desired topping. Jingle gently the covered energy ball, to remove any excess topping. You can still let the energy balls uncovered and just sprinkle them with a pinch of orange zest. Your energy balls are ready to serve and consume!

Transfer the energy balls in an airtight container and store them in the refrigerator for a week or in the freezer for up to 3 months. These energy balls are great at room temperature, chilled from the refrigerator or even frozen directly from the freezer. Once you take them out from the freezer, these energy balls should be soft enough for direct consume!