Every since I started this blog, I have been trying new things even more frequently. I always liked trying new things but those new experiences usually happened in restaurants or at events. I am finally starting new things in the kitchen. New ingredients, new products, new recipes. I’m really loving it! I can’t say I feel like a housewife just yet, but I am definitely enjoying my time in the kitchen much more than I used to. I am really enjoying taking time in creating deliciousness and having other people say that they actually like them! It warms my heart.

I bought a bunch of dates a week or two ago because of all the wonderful recipes I have been finding that call for dates. As soon as I bought them, however, I realized I didn’t save any of these awesome recipes. The search begun. I found some pretty cool recipes and mainly it was for these date balls. I thought, why not? I have never even tried dates before so why not just make pretty coconut coated balls out of them? I also had some oranges in stock so why not add those into the mix? How many flavors can you combine? Ha!

So this was my first time trying dates. I don’t know how they taste like by themselves. They are not the most attractive looking fruit so I wanted to wait till they were in a prettier shape.

What did I think of the result?

It was fantastic. Really. I was actually really surprised how super sweet these turned out without even adding any sugar!

Actually, for my own taste buds, these are a little bit too sweet. But my taste buds like stuff much less sweet than any of my friends soo yeah. But wow. These actually reminded me of caramel for some reason? They are super chewy and delicious. Such a wonderful raw treat!

Dates are definitely not the prettiest, but boy, are they the sweetest?!

I finally got a food processor! It came in a package along with an immersion blender all for only like $50! I was SO SO stoked!

Oh, & I recommend making a couple balls first and then rolling them around in coconut. Otherwise there will be a whole lot of hand-washing going on in between each ball. This way is much faster.

Coconut Orange Date Balls [yield 15 balls]
Adapted from A House in the Hills.

2 cups of merjool dates, de-seeded
1 tablespoon of Better’n Peanut Butter
2 tablespoons of freshly squeezed orange juice
shredded coconut to coat the balls

Slice each date in half and pull out the seeds. put dates, peanut butter and orange juice in food processor and pulse until it has become a thick, sticky paste. Wet fingers and scoop roughly one tablespoon of paste out of food processor. Form it into a little ball and roll in a plate of dried, shredded coconut. Refrigerate to firm them up and serve. Enjoy!

~85 calories per ball

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