Valentine’s Day, on February 14, is an annual celebration of love in its many varied forms. It has competing origin stories, including beginnings in a wild pagan festival celebrating fertility or a Christian feast day honouring martyrs named Saint Valentine. However Valentine’s Day started it is now recognised as a tribute to romance in many regions of the world. This universal day of love has also become synonymous with gifts of chocolate, flowers and messages of affection from secret admirers.
Preparing, serving and enjoying delicious delicacies is a pleasurable way to spoil yourself and your valentine. Appropriately named, bliss balls are a no bake, nutritious and bite sized sweet treat. For all the herb lovers out there our Western Australia practitioner consultant Amanda Goncalves has developed a bliss ball recipe to tantalise your tastebuds. With herbal rockstar, withania (Withania somnifera), to encourage relaxation and cacao, known as “food of the Gods”, it’s difficult to stop at one.
Ingredients:
1 cup almond meal
2 tbsp desiccated coconut, plus extra for rolling
2 tbsp tahini (unhulled)
1 ½ tbsp maple syrup
2 tbsp raw cacao powder
1 tsp organic vanilla bean extract
6 medjool dates finely chopped (remove pit, cover in water, soak for a few hours then blend smooth)
1 ½ tbsp Withania Extract 1:1
2 tbsp water added slowly (more if needed).
Method
1. Mix all dry ingredients together first
2. Add all wet ingredients to the dry mix including pureed dates plus approx. 2 tablespoons of warm water to get the correct texture.
3. Roll and knead with hands, divide mixture into half and roll 6 balls from each half (food processer is not needed, texture needs to be well mixed and not too sticky but able to be shaped into balls)
4. Insert decoration i.e., half walnut or roll in the desiccated coconut (after decoration is inserted gently squeeze out any cracks to correct ball shape).
Serve either straight away or refrigerate for later.
* If tahini or maple syrup are not preferred, substitute for 1 tablespoon of coconut oil melted instead.
Makes about 12- 14 bliss balls.
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