I initially made these orange pumpkin balls (aka pumpkin pie balls, energy balls or else donut holes!) about two years ago as a tribute to my husband. I remember asking him about fruits he enjoyed the most and he mentioned oranges among a couple of others. I also like orange flavor, which is associated with end of year celebrations in many countries around the globe. With Chinese New Year just around the corner I’m tempted to say “Ni hao, zesty pumpkin pie balls!”
Working full-time and blogging can be exhaustive and ease of preparation is important to me. I would feel overwhelmed if I had to think of a triple-layered cake to create while trying to adapt a recipe to the paleo autoimmune protocol or while working on my own recipe. Luckily food processor is there, which is a must on the AIP kitchen, and I cannot imagine my life without it any more.
I’m used to making various sorts of date balls, but I tend to skip soaking dates, which sometimes results in a tougher dough. Opting for simplicity, I thought that adding a bit of a liquid could take care of it. So, I started experimenting by adding various purées, such as pumpkin or sweet potato purée, applesauce and so on. The result was pretty good and by adding different flavors, such as cinnamon, ginger, lemon or orange zest, I’ve created a whole bunch of flavorful date balls, including this simple, yet tasty treat!
- Zest of 1 medium orange
- 4 tablespoons pumpkin purée*
- 1 cup (8oz) finely shredded coconut
- 1 tablespoon coconut butter
- 8 medjool dates
- Pinch of salt
- Place all the ingredients in a food processor and process until a ball of dough is formed.
- Roll** a level tablespoon of the mixture into balls.
- Refrigerate the balls for 30 minutes or longer to allow them to firm.
**You can use a cookie scoop to form the balls.
Variations: Use applesauce instead of pumpkin purée and add ½ teaspoon of vanilla powder, 2 tablespoons of cinnamon and ½ teaspoon ground ginger for delicious Apple and Cinnamon Energy Balls!
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Creation of frozen “ice cream” dressings was my AIP response to a missing cheese.
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Maria is the blogger behind the Zesty Paleo website. As a Hashimoto's patient for more than a decade, Maria has constantly been taking steps to improve her quality of life, including nutrition and lifestyle choices.
These look lovely.
These look fabulous! I am going to give this a try soon!
Thanks Indu! I hope that you will enjoy my pumpkin energy balls 😉