Nothing says Christmas like Mama Rosa's Date Nut Balls. These crisp balls of juicy dates, tropical coconut, and chopped pecans are covered in powdered sugar. The perfect holiday bite-size dessert snack!
Mix dates, butter and brown sugar in a medium saucepan. Cook on low heat until dates are tender and mashed.
Add pecans and coconut. Remove from heat.
Gently stir in the Rice Krispies cereal. Stir well.
Cool to touch, but make the balls as soon as possible while the mixture is still warm. (see notes)
Cool the date nut balls completely, then roll the balls in powdered sugar. Serve at room temperature or refrigerate overnight.
Notes
Allow the mixture to cool slightly before rolling into balls.
Wet your hands to keep the mixture from sticking to them while forming the balls. Just make sure you fling the excess water off so it doesn't affect the consistency of the date nut balls.
Place the uncoated balls onto a platter or on parchment paper to keep them from sticking to each other. They will stick to each other until coated with the powdered sugar.
Cooling the date nut balls completely before coating them with sugar is important. Dipping warm balls will melt the confectionery sugar.
We find pouring the confectionery sugar into a small bowl with steep sides easier when trying to coat the balls. Drop two or three balls into the sugar bowl and roll around to coat. Coat the balls well so they won't stick to each other.
For best results, refrigerate overnight before serving.
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