Apricot Bliss Balls | Apricot Laddu

Apricot balls is a delicious healthy dessert or snack recipe with goodness of dried apricots, coconut, nuts & seeds. They are made without condensed milk or refined sugar and can easily be made nut free too with simple swap of ingredients.

You just need handful of kitchen ingredients to make these divine tasting golden bliss balls. If you are looking for dried apricots recipes then this one is a must try. They are perfect to pack in lunch box as mid day healthy snack or you can carry them while travelling to instantly satiate your sugar cravings.

This apricot bliss balls recipe is :

Vegan
Dairy free
Gluten free
Easy & quick to make
Healthy with no added sugar

Apricot coconut balls can also be served as healthy treat around festivals like Diwali, Christmas or Holiday season. Though celebrations are synonyms with indulgences, these bring just the right kind of balance between health & sweetness. They are also a great option for potluck or edible gift basket.

What are apricots?

Apricot is a fruit, also known as ‘Khubanee’ or Khubani’ in hindi. It looks similar to peach and has sweet-tart flavour. Apart from being a rich in antioxidants & fibre, they are also a great source of potassium, vitamin A, C & E.

To make these apricot bliss balls, you need to use seedless dried apricots which are easily available in grocery stores or online. I have used Sultan brand Turkish whole sun-dried apricots here.

The slight sweet and tart flavour of apricot amalgamates well with the warm comforting undertones of coconut. Cashews & sesame seeds add healthy fats to these balls and can be replaced by any nuts or seeds of your choice.

Hope you would like this easy apricot coconut balls recipe. More healthy desserts or snack recipes (without refined sugar) :

Youtube Video:

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 5 minutes

Ingredients: (For 10 balls)

Dried Apricots- 18 to 20 (~160 grams)
Desiccated Coconut- 1/2 cup + 3 tbsp
Cashews (or any nuts)- 1/4 cup
Sesame Seeds (Til)- 1/4 cup
Honey / Maple Syrup- 1 to 2 tbsp (to taste)
Cinnamon- 1/8 tsp

Substitutions:

Instead of cashews, you can use any nuts of your choice like almonds (or almond meal), walnuts, hazelnuts or pistachios.
To make nut free apricot balls, use slightly toasted oats instead of nuts.
Sesame seeds can be replaced with with mixed seeds like chia, flaxseeds or pumpkin seeds.
For flavouring, cinnamon can be replaced with vanilla extract or cardamom powder.
Instead of honey or maple syrup you can add other sweeteners like dates syrup, brown sugar or seedless dates.

Directions:

Step 1: In a pan, add cashews & roast for 2-3 minutes on medium-low flame. Keep stirring. Add sesame seeds & roast them with cashews on low flame till they start to puff a little bit, releasing their aroma. Switch off the flame & add 1/2 cup desiccated coconut. Mix well. The coconut will roast in the residual heat of the pan. Keep the mixture aside to cool completely.

Step 2: Once the above mixture has cooled, transfer it to a grinder jar or food processor and grind in pulses till it gets powdered completely. Transfer it in a bowl.

Step 3: Roughly chop the apricots into smaller pieces. This makes sure they grind quickly later on.

Step 4: To the same grinder jar, add these chopped apricots and blend in pulses. Once they start to breakdown, add powdered coconut & nuts mixture. Blend well till all the ingredients are mixed properly.

Step 5: Transfer this into a bowl and add honey, cinnamon powder or vanilla extract to it. Mix well using a spatula or spoon. Taste & adjust the sweetener as per your taste. The mixture should have a dough like consistency as shown below.

Step 6: Scoop out 1 to 2 tbsp of mixture and roll between your palms to make smooth ball. Roll this ball into some desiccated coconut. Repeat for rest of the mixture (yields 10-12 balls). Delicious healthy apricot balls or apricot laddu are ready.

Tip: Please taste sesame seeds before adding as sometimes if they have been stored for too long, they turn rancid & taste bitter, thus ruining the final taste of apricot balls.

Variations:

To give crunchy texture, you can add any chopped nuts like walnuts, pistachio, hazelnuts etc to the apricot ball mixture (in step 5).
If you like chocolates, add chocolate chips to these balls or even dried cranberries as their fruits flavour pairs well with apricots.
To make them for special occasions or festive season, instead of rolling balls in dry coconut (in step 6) you can dip them in melted chocolate and decorate as shown in this chocolate covered dates recipe. Do chill them for 20-30 min to set completely before dipping in chocolate.

FAQs:

How many pieces does this recipe yields?
This recipe yields 10 balls of roughly 25 grams each. To make a bigger batch, feel free to double or triple the recipe.

How to store these apricot coconut balls?
Store them in an airtight container at all times to prevent from drying. They remain good in fridge for upto a month. If you have made a big batch of these apricot balls, you can even freeze some of them to be consumed later.

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