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Date Nut Balls Rolled in Coconut or Pistachio

I have loved dates for a very long time. I do think they’re one of the world’s best food, and completely more versatile than they’re often understood to be. They’re not just for desserts, as in the recipe I’m about to show you, but they’re wonderful in salads, great to cook with when dried (I love when they’re part of a savory rice dish), or even made into a paste for more than just baking dishes. 

But you probably want a dessert recipe right about now, don’t you? 

final date rolls

I had a complete craving for dates mixed with almonds, coconut and pistachios. Kind of convenient when you think about what a delicious combination that can be- and I have a seriously easy recipe for you: Date Nut Balls (or Logs, which I’ll show you), which are then rolled in either coconut or ground pistachio. 

ingredients 700

To grind the pistachio simply take the meat out of the shell (or purchase pistachio meat only) and run it through a food processor. If you have a small amount, you could use a coffee/spice grinder to do this. Just be sure to do it right before making this recipe because if it’s not fresh, you can taste it.

ground pistachios

Next for the ground coconut. This is basically coconut flakes ground even further. I find this in my international grocery markets with the nuts and dried fruits.

ground coconut

I put coconut flakes in the ingredients list, but I don’t actually use it here. I just wanted to show that you might find flakes this big (although typically smaller) and these can be put through the food processor or coffee/spice grinder, too, to make ground coconut. You could also use a a decoration once the dessert is finished- but that might look a little messy. Whatever floats your boat.

coconut flakes

Next up- this recipe is really good with raw toasted almonds because they have a deeper flavor, but if all you have is regular, by all means use those instead.

almonds

Now for the star of this dessert show: Medjool dates. Ahhh….my most favorite of all the dates I’ve ever tried, and I’ve tried a lot. I think it’s because they’re meaty and stuffable. But I think I’ve already told you that somewhere else on this blog. It’s repeat-worthy, I think…

I should also tell you that you can get very good organic Medjool dates that are California-grown (Bard Valley), from Natural Delights, which are halal-certified, too. They sent me a few boxes so I could make all sorts of good things with them to show you. I also like the fact that to us here in the Midwest, they’re actually our most ‘local’ date product.

Full plate of dates

So to make the dessert, you have to pit the dates. That means take the pit out. I sometimes don’t get why they say ‘pit’ the olive, or ‘pit’ the date when you’re actually removing it. Being a former English teacher, I should know that answer.  If my former students are reading this, I’m sure you can and will ‘Google’ the answer…

Back to the dates.

Remove the pit by gently pulling the date apart horizontally.

open date

Take the pit out. It almost looks like a small nut. 

remove pit from date

Obviously it’s not crunchy, so you wouldn’t miss it if you bit into it. But it might ruin your food processor or blender if you left it in, so atencion!

take pit out

What I love about these dates is that they’re flexible. Repairable is probably a better word. Back to semantics again…

What I mean is that for people like me who are kind of messy when cooking, baking and preparing things, it means that if you needed to present these dates beautifully, no one would know that you worked that date a little bit because it goes back together so perfectly. Masha’Allah.

push back together

See what I mean?

push together 2

Now it’s time to roll. Well, we’ll mix first then we’ll roll.

dates in food processor

Add the pitted dates to a food processor. 

add dates to food processor

Add the almonds.

add almonds

Get ready to hold on tight. It’s really going to move the food processor around a bit, especially once the mixture thickens.

dates with almonds

I process on high for about 15-30 seconds then stop it to see where it’s at. If the almonds are all still quite big, I just keep going but pulsing it so I have control over the mixture, then blend at 5 second increments.  This is how you want it to look, and it will be sticky. 

after being processed

Spread out the coconut on a plate. This is where you’ll roll the balls once they’re formed.

add coconut to plate

Do the same with the ground pistachio.

add pistachios

Now we’re ready to roll. Quite literally. Between your hands, just like you do meatballs. If you make those. 

roll out

Now simply roll the ball over the ground pistachio. 

roll it in pistachio

And keep rolling, until you get as much of the topping on it as you like. It’ll stick.

rolled in pistachio

And do the same with the coconut. In no time, you can have them all done.

everything rolled up

Don’t they look like munchkin donuts?

date balls on a platter

Now I”ll throw you a loop- you can also make date logs if you like those, instead. They’re done exactly the same way, but just shaped differently and made according to the size you prefer. 

make a roll in coconut

Roll the same as you do the balls.

rolled in coconut

Now slice them into pieces so everyone can have a taste. You don’t have to do this, but I find that a whole log is just too much for most people. But maybe you know people who aren’t most people and who prefer the whole log. Again, whatever floats your boat.

cut with sharp knife

And of course it’s the same withe the pistachio.

roll in pistachio

Cut them into bit size pieces and serve, or preserve until you’re ready to serve. These stay good in the fridge for about a week, covered. I just like to bring them to room temperature before serving. 

up close cut rolls

And I have to admit that I like the ball shape better. Actually, I like the fact that they’re less work- no cutting involved, and you can make them small, medium or large. 

date balls from above

Sweet, isn’t it?

Would you take these to a Ramadan Iftar party or serve them to guests at your own?

Date Nut Balls Rolled In Coconut or Pistachio
Yields 12
A simple and quick recipe for a dessert that travels well, preserves well and pleases well. Quite literally once of the fastest sweets you can make, and it makes things like Iftar just a little more unique.
Print
Total Time
20 min
Total Time
20 min
Ingredients
  1. 18 pitted Medjool dates
  2. 1/4 cup almonds
  3. 1 cup ground coconut
  4. 1 cup ground pistachio
Instructions
  1. Pit the dates. Add to a food processor, then add the almonds. Pulse or blend for about 30 seconds, making sure that the almonds are fairly well chopped. The mixture should result in a sticky mass, and usually moves to one side of a food processor when done.
  2. Place the ground coconut and the ground pistachio onto separate plates.
  3. Roll the mixture in your hands until it forms a ball. Roll in the ground coconut or pistachio until fully covered. Continue to do so until all of the dates rolls have been coated. Keep chilled until ready to serve. Keeps for about one week fresh, in the refrigerator.
Notes
  1. Prep time is set up. Cook time is food processor time plus rolling time.
Yvonne Maffei https://myhalalkitchen.com/

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  1. I love making this dish. Just a little twist though. I add in a few drops of orange blossom essence (when available) or rose water when blending the date & almonds in the food processor. Your recipes are simple to follow and very helpful. JazakALLAH khair & best wishes. Ramadaan kareem.

  2. Any idea what the sugar & fat grams or the calories are? Trying to figure out how to make these diabetic friendly for my iftar.

  3. Yvonne, this is exactly how LARABARs are made – very healthy & yummy! Am wishing they would partner w/ the Girl Scouts to start selling these instead of cookies. LOVE your idea to turn these into bite size balls, very convenient! <3

    1. @Reverend Cynthia- thank you! I agree, it’s a great idea for the Girl Scouts to have something healthy to sell- maybe they can partner with MHK instead, lol 😉

  4. Salam sister I love this recipes and it so quick and easy to make. But my son has serious allergies to nuts all nuts. What else can you recommend from almond and pistachio

    1. wa’alaikum as salaam Saj, you could try Dutch cocoa powder or powdered sugar, even a little bit of sea salt.

  5. Delicious. Loveee dates. This is such an easy and healthy dessert recipe. I am definitely going to try this. 🙂

  6. Nice recipe. I remember this from my childhood, my mom used to make it in log form and add tea biscuits in it as well. I tried with almonds inside the balls and coated them with 4 different things: coconut, sesame seeds, cocoa and sea salt. They were a hit at my aftaar party. I gave these to guests for breaking fast instead of regular plain dates. My only suggestion would be to pulse the almonds first and then add the dates. It gets a lot easier that way and the food processor doesn’t stop after every 2,3 seconds. Thank you so much.

  7. Thanks for sharing this recipe! I made it for a family iftar last week and it was a hit!
    So simple and easy to do!
    My husband began giving me ideas for different variations of it!

  8. JazakAllah Khyr for the lovely recipe 🙂 i tried it today and it was awesome, everybody loved it! I also coated it with sesame seed and it was really yummy.

    1. hi my name is saba my mom let me use her accont so i am making this for my family feast tommorow at school it is relly sweet hope other people like it in my class bye sweet

  9. Hi, I would be very thankful if you reply to this message: I make coconut dates balls as your receipe but if don’t store them in freezer ,they are very soft and when having guests ,it looks so bad and soft.I don’t eat sugar .Is there anything that I can add to this mixture so it be hard in room temperature? Please advise because this is the only desert I love to eat

  10. These are very similar to cookies my mom made when we were kids. She only made them during Christmas holidays. We had to heat the dates in a frying pan while adding the other ground nut ingredients then when the mixture was cooled, we rolled them into balls then in fine coconut. They were so delicious. We would all sneak into the cookie tin to eat them when mom wasn’t looking. Your method is so much simpler but we didn’t have a food processor.

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