These energy balls take a familiar combination of dates, cocoa, coffee, and hazelnut and add a surprising ingredient: nori. Toasting the nori in the oven brings out its flavour, and once blitzed into a fine powder it adds a gentle savoury, umami depth that balances the sweetness of the dates and chocolate. They are quick to make, need no baking, and keep well in the fridge, which makes them handy for snacks, lunchboxes, or a bite of something sweet with your afternoon coffee. They are also an easy bite to pack for a hike, a run, or a training session. Packed into a small box or jar, they make a thoughtful homemade gift too.
Instructions
- Soak the dates in boiling water for 5 to 10 minutes to soften them, then drain and remove the pits. You need 225g of pitted dates, so weigh them after pitting.
- Preheat the oven to 160°C. Place the nori on a baking tray and roast for 5 minutes until crisp, then leave to cool.
- Blitz the cooled nori into fine flakes or a powder.
- Mix the instant espresso powder with the boiling water, stirring quickly until it dissolves into a thick, dark concentrate.
- Put the dates, hazelnut and chocolate spread, hazelnut powder, oats, cocoa powder, nori powder, honey, salt, and the espresso concentrate in a food processor. Blitz until the mixture comes together into a sticky dough.
- Roll the mixture into balls, about the size of a walnut.
- Store in an airtight container in the fridge.
