These hazelnut and chocolate energy balls make the perfect sweet and healthy snack!

They’re great when you need an afternoon treat and are packed with protein!

All you need is 5 ingredients to make these energy balls – medjool dates, hazelnuts, cocoa powder, nut butter and maple syrup. So they’re dairy free, gluten free and refined sugar free! 

This recipe calls for roasted hazelnuts which you can do yourself in just 10 minutes.

Place them on a baking tray and pop them in the oven at 180C/350F for 10 minutes until the skins have darkened and are falling off.

Then you’ll use a kitchen towel to brush off the loose skins and they are ready to blitz in a food processor.

The hazelnuts get blitzed first until finely chopped and then the dates, nut butte, cocoa powder and maple syrup are added.

Medjool dates are my favourite base for energy balls, they’re sweet, sticky, chewy and have a caramel like flavour. Plus they are packed with potassium, fibre and energy!

They make these energy balls nice and sticky and act as a binder so they don’ fall apart.

They are more expensive than regular dates but are definitely worth it. You can sub for regular dates though if you want. I pick them up in the fresh fruit section in the supermarket. 

If you’re thinking you don’t like dates (I never used to) medjool dates will change your mind! If I ever have some in the fridge, they don’t last long!

I usually use peanut butter for energy balls as I always have it in the cupboard. However you can use any nut butter you like, hazelnut or almond butter would work nicely too!

This recipe will make between 12-15 balls depending how big you make them. I took a tablespoon amount of mixture and then rolled them into balls using my hands.

A cookie scoop would make this a little easier if you have one! If you find your hands are getting too sticky then wet them before you start rolling again.

As you can see from the photos I coated some of the balls in chopped up roasted hazelnuts.

If you want to do this then roast a handful of extra nuts, roughly chop and then gently roll them in them. I think it makes them look really pretty and also adds some extra texture!

For the cocoa powder you want to make sure you’re using a good quality one, not on that has been packed with sugar or preservatives.

I used Green & Blacks organic cocoa powder, alternatively you can use a raw cocao powder.

If you’re a fan of chocolate bliss balls like me take a look at my Peanut Butter and Chocolate Bliss Balls recipe! Everyone I’ve made these for falls in love with them and they’re popular for a reason!

For more chocolate recipes you may enjoy these:

Vanilla, coconut and chocolate flapjacks

Double chocolate chip peanut butter cookies

Double chocolate chip cake

---

As always if you make these chocolate hazelnut bliss balls be sure to leave me a comment, rate this recipe and tag me on Instagram. I love seeing all your photos of my recipe recreations!

Don’t forget to follow along on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram – I’d love to see you all there!

---

NEVER MISS A RECIPE! GET MORE VEGAN RECIPES SENT STRAIGHT TO YOUR INBOX – SUBSCRIBE HERE ?