📋 Chocolate Cherry Energy Balls Recipe

chocolate cherry energy balls stacked in a white bowl

5 from 1 vote

📋 Chocolate Cherry Energy Balls Recipe

No bake and healthy, these chocolate cherry energy balls with oatmeal taste like healthy black forest energy bites. They are the perfect guilt-free and healthy chocolate snack or dessert!

Course Dessert, Snack

Cuisine North American

Keyword cherry, chocolate, energy balls, energy bites

Special Diet Gluten-free, Vegetarian, weight watchers

Prep Time 15

freezer (recommended) 4

Total Time 4 15

Servings bites

Calories 116kcal

Author Terri Gilson

Ingredients

½ cup almond butter
2 tablespoon agave syrup or substitute 3 tablespoon liquid honey
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
2-4 tbsp warm water as needed
1 cup quick oats (gluten-free)
⅓ cup unsweetened coconut
½ cup chia seeds
6 tablespoon semi-sweet mini chocolate chips
½ cup dried cherries

US Customary - Metric

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Instructions

In a large mixing bowl, mix almond butter, agave, vanilla and cocoa powder together. Add 2tbsps of warm water.
½ cup almond butter, 2 tablespoon agave syrup, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 3 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder, 2-4 tablespoon warm water
Add oats, coconut, chia and chocolate chips and stir until evenly coated. Add dried cherries. At this point, if mixture still doesn't stick together, add water by the tablespoon, as needed. Transfer mixture to refrigerator to chill until nearly set and easier to handle.
1 cup quick oats (gluten-free), ⅓ cup unsweetened coconut, ½ cup chia seeds, 6 tablespoon semi-sweet mini chocolate chips, ½ cup dried cherries
Lay parchment paper on a cookie sheet. Remove mixture from refrigerator and shape into 1- 1 ½ -inch balls and space apart on cookie sheet. ** I find it helpful to wet my hands when I am forming the mixture into balls.
Freeze for 4-6 hours or overnight.
Then transfer to freezer bag to store ( I store in freezer for up to 3 months). Thaw when ready to eat (you can pop them in the microwave for 10- seconds) OR throw them in a lunch bag in the morning and they'll be ready to eat by lunch time!

Notes

Expert Recipe Tips:

The Wet Hand Hack: This is the ultimate "Lazy Way" trick! Keep a small bowl of water nearby and lightly dampen your palms before rolling. It prevents the dough from sticking to you and results in perfectly smooth energy bites.
Don't Skip the Chill: Chilling the dough before rolling is essential. It allows the oats to hydrate and the almond butter to firm up, so your bites don't flatten out.
The Salt Trick: Add a tiny pinch of sea salt to the mixture. It spectacularly enhances the flavor of the chocolate and cherries.
Digestive Sensitivity: If you have a sensitive digestive tract, or IBS, soak your raw oats (in milk or water), as eating dry, raw oats can lead to digestive issues, bloating, or constipation. Soaking them for at least 12 hours helps break down phytic acid, improving nutrient absorption.

Storage:

You can store these chocolate energy bites in the fridge for up to 3 days. They freeze well for up to 3 months.

👪 Serving Size

This recipe makes about 16 chocolate energy balls if you make them the same size as I did in the main photos. You can make them a little smaller (as I did in the process images) and get 22 bites from this recipe. You can half, double or triple the recipe by clicking on the blue serving size in the recipe card and selecting the number of servings you'd like. The ingredient amounts will then adjust accordingly.

*NOTE: Dried Cherries: These provide the spectacular "Black Forest" tang. I prefer to chop them up because it makes them go further and easier to work into the mixture. If your cherries are very hard, soak them in warm water for 5 minutes, and pat dry before adding

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