What is this bliss?
- a companion to your coffee
- a breakfast on the go
- a post-workout refueling
- an afternoon pick-me-up
- an after-dinner treat
- ALL DAY BLISS 🙂
With plenty of fiber and healthy fats, these delicious bliss balls keep you satisfied and feelin’ BLISSFUL. They make me happy with each sweet little bite!
But that’s not all.. you can also bake them into COOKIES! See below for all the deets.
The Blissful Ingredients
Just 5 main ingredients you can feel good about:
- Almonds for a neutral and nutty flavor and texture base
- Flaxseed for a boost of fiber
- Maple Syrup sweetened with monkfruit for a delicious sugar-free treat
- “Butter” aka buttery coconut oil for dairy-free healthy fats and amazing flavor
- Coconut shreds which make these taste sorta like oatmeal cookies – YUM
I always add these for complexity and intensity of flavor
- High quality vanilla extract (get some REAL good stuff)
- Healthy salt – pink Himalayan! (once you try it you’ll NEVER buy cheap bleached salt again)
These are wholesome ingredients you can feel “blissful” about putting in your body and your taste buds feel total BLISS when you take a bite!
I concocted this particular combination of ingredients for the flavor profile I was going for, but YES, you can sub different nuts and seeds, different sweeteners and different oils if that’s your jam.
Here Comes the Sub
Yes, there are a million ways you can customize these balls to your preference. Just keep in mind the flavor will change slightly with each swap. But definitely make them you own 🙂
You can use ANY nut or seed you like in place of almonds and coconut.
Don’t have monkfruit maple syrup? You can use “real” maple syrup instead.
If you’re keto, you can use monkfruit granules + about 2 Tbs water. Plus maple extract if you like!
To replace buttery flavor coconut oil, the ideal sub is another solid oil for the same consistency, but here are some other options:
- Regular virgin or refined coconut oil
- Palm oil
- Butter
- Coconut butter (aka manna)
- Nut butter (maybe! with a few tweaks)
Remember, you can always add a little more dry ingredients if your dough is too sticky, or more syrup/water/oil if it’s too crumbly. 
The Easy Method
Pulse pulse pulse, 1 2 3. That’s about it!
These were SO quick and easy to make.
Once you add in all the ingredients, the actual blending only takes SECONDS.
YEP, seconds thanks to my trusty food processor. It does all the work for me at the push of a button. I’M OBSESSED.
And after you make the dough, you get to EAT the dough. It’s ready with NO WAITING. Woohoo!
Snack Attack
Chewy, nutty, happy bites. With a medley of complimentary flavors, there’s so much to love about these bliss balls.
So satisfying. And with just over ONE carb each, you can totally enjoy these on a low-carb/keto diet.
They make a great snack, breakfast or dessert. It’s up to you!
If you’re into bliss balls – and I know you are – be sure to check out my Pecan Sandy Bliss Balls and 5-Minute Cinnamon Sugar Donut Holes! 2 of my all time favorites!
Cookie Transformation
But I found out that you CAN bake these into cookies with just a couple of slight modifications to the dough.
- Add a little dry sweetener (since baking dissipates some of the sweetness)
- Add some delish toppings (to amplify the flavor)
See, wasn’t that easy?
I’ve been having 2 cookies for breakfast and a bliss ball post-workout most days.
AND… this is classified information, but I have a new ice cream flavor in development that has THESE cookies crumbled in it! Oh.my.word.
Size Matters
I’ve always liked making my cookies small — a standard 1 Tbs 2″cookie. Maybe because psychologically I like being “allowed” to eat more than one, haha.
But when I asked my Insta followers what size cookies they prefer, the overwhelming response was the bigger 4″ size.
So I tested both. And ate both 🙂 so.. many.. cookies, haha.
Maybe it was my impatience to dig in to this mega cookie before it had cooled enough, but it wasn’t as “sturdy” as my standard cookies.
So if you wanna make ’em big, here’s my advice:
- Let them cool first (I know it’s hard to wait!)
- And handle with care! They’re more fragile.
- or just make ’em petite! 🙂
Cookies for Breakfast
Can you really eat cookies for breakfast? I call these breakfast cookies for several reasons:
- Because they’re not as sweet and rich as conventional cookies. They’re lightly sweetened
- They have a hearty texture– similar to an oatmeal cookie. A little chewy, a little soft inside. Nice and filling.
- They’re made with wholesome ingredients so they’re totally acceptable to eat for breakfast! 😀
Gluten-free, grain-free, dairy-free, sugar-free, soy-free, the list goes on!
Full of fiber, protein, and healthy fats, and super low in sugar. That’s my kind of breakfast. (See the macros at the bottom of the post for the stats)
ps I definitely recommend some mini dark chocolate chips on top! A little chocolate for breakfast is always a good idea 😉
pps Want more healthy breakfast sweets? Check out my collection of keto breakfast recipes including sugar-free donuts, scones and more!
Are you ready for some vanilla bliss? And cookies for breakfast?? Yes and YES.
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Vanilla Nut Bliss Balls & Breakfast Cookies
Ingredients
Bliss Balls
- 3/4 cup almonds
- 3 Tbs ground flaxseed
- 2 Tbs buttery coconut oil
- 2 Tbs unsweetened coconut shreds
- 2.5 - 3 Tbs maple syrup sugar-free for keto
- 1/2 Tbs Mexican vanilla
- pinch of pink salt
Additional ingredients for cookies:
- 2-4 tsp dry sweetener monkfruit or coconut sugar
- 2-4 Tbs toppings dark chocolate chips, seeds, dried fruit, etc
Instructions
To make the bliss balls:
- Add all ingredients together in a food processor
- Pulse a few times until the nuts are ground and the mixture sticks together. (Leave coarse for a crunchy texture, blend longer for a smoother texture) If too wet, add a little more flax,. If too dry, add a splash of syrup.
- Use a cookie scoop to form balls. Roll smooth using your hands. Enjoy!
For the cookies:
- Preheat oven to 350. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Make the dough as directed above, and add 2-4 tsp monkfruit granules, depending on how sweet you want them.
- Use a standard size cookie scoop to form 2" cookies. Flatten cookies with a spaulta (they will not spread)
- Top with dark chocolate chips or your favorite crunchy/sweet topping, such as pepitas, coconut, dried fruit, or cinnamon "sugar" (using monkfruit or coconut sugar).
- Bake for about 10-12 minutes until the edges are firm and slightly golden. Allow to cool slightly before removing. Enjoy!
Notes
Disclosure: As an affiliate I may earn a small commission from qualifying purchases made through referral links in this post (at no additional cost to you).
Products and Ingredients in this Recipe:
Dry roasted unsalted almonds from Aldi
- Thrive Market (Use my referral link http://thrv.me/prettypies for an additional 25% off your entire first order)
- Lakanto’s website (enter code PRETTYPIES at checkout for 20% off)
- Amazon
Shredded Coconut from Thrive Market or Amazon
Hi, these sound great! My question: can I make this recipe if I don’t have a food processor? How would I go about it? (I do have a decent blender, although kind of small, as well as an immersion blender. ) Thanks for your help!
Thanks! Yes a blender should work too. I would just blend it for about 10 seconds and check if the almonds are ground enough. Alternatively, you can sub almond flour, which gives a smooth texture like cookie dough balls!
After thinking some more, I would just blend/pulse the almonds by themself for a few seconds to grind them, then add the rest of the ingredients. Hope that helps 🙂
Hi there, do you have a sub for the maple syrup?
Yes, you can use a powdered sweetener like coconut sugar, monkfruit or swerve. I would try 2 Tbs and adjust to taste. Also add about 2 Tbs of water to help it hold together 🙂
Hi Emily,
I just stumbled upon this recipe and I just wanted to say not only do the balls/cookies look amazing, but your photos are beautiful!!!
I will definitely have to try these 🙂
Thanks so much, Ashley! Hope you enjoy! 🙂
How much almond flour would you sub if you don’t havecwhole almonds?
It’s roughly the same amount. If your dough is too wet, add a little more flour. Or too dry, more liquid 🙂 it’s flexible.