Cranberry Orange Bliss Balls! If you love citrus-forward, no-fuss recipes, these are absolutely a must-try!
These Cranberry Orange Bliss Balls are the ultimate bite-sized treat: sweet, tart, and bursting with bright citrus flavor that tastes like sunshine in every mouthful. Packed with tangy cranberries and aromatic orange zest, they hit the perfect balance of sweet and tangy, with a little “just one more” energy that’s hard to resist. Best of all, they’re easy to make and ideal when you need a quick pick-me-up between meals.
Whole Food Plant Based, Vegan, plant based, oil free, refined sugar free, no highly processed ingredients and gluten free.
Hi there, Ameera here!
We also have to say: we LOVE orange zest and cranberries together—it’s one of those flavor combos that instantly feels festive and refreshing at the same time. The zingy orange notes make the tart cranberries taste even brighter, and together they create that cozy, sweet-tart magic you’ll want to come back to again and again.
Honestly, if you love citrus, you gotta give this one a try! Make a batch, keep them in the fridge, and enjoy them whenever you need something satisfying, flavorful, and homemade without spending hours in the kitchen.
Tips for Success:
- Flavor Profile: These Cranberry Orange Bliss Balls are perfectly sweet, tart, citrusy, and utterly delicious. They are easy to make and are the perfect pick-me-up to help you power through until your next meal. Perfect as a snack or treat.
- Taste the Mixture: The beauty of these tasty cranberry orange bliss balls is that you can taste them before fully committing to shaping them into balls.
- Why are the Dried Cranberries Divided? The reason they are divided is so that you can see the small pieces of dried cranberries in the balls. Otherwise, if you add the whole amount and all of it gets blitzed in the food processor, while the taste may be the same, you won’t get those pretty little pieces of cranberries to show through the balls.
- Tart Flavor: If you are not a fan of tart and zesty flavors, coming from the cranberries and orange zest, then consider skipping this recipe.
- Orange Zest: If you love orange zest then this recipe is for you. If you are not a fan of orange zest then consider skipping this recipe.
- Medjool Dates: Medjool dates are naturally very soft and pliant. They work perfectly with this recipe because of this. If you have very dry dates, consider placing them in a bowl, cover with boiling water, and allow to sit for 3 minutes. Discard the water, and place into the food processor at the appropriate time. If you soaked the Medjool Dates, they may be a little stickier dough than anticipated. You may need to adjust by adding a tad biåt more rolled oats.
- Table Salt: If using table salt, you should use less table salt than the amount listed in the ingredients as sea salt crystals are larger than table salt crystals. Since table salt crystals are very fine, less table salt is required to season a dish. We would suggest starting with about 1/4 to 1/2 the amount of sea salt listed. You can always add more salt but cannot take it away. We recommend using sea salt as it is less refined than table salt.
Leftovers and Freezing:
Leftovers will generally keep 5 days in the refrigerator. Store in a covered air-tight container.
These bliss balls freezes well.
Pantry Products:
- Rolled Oats: Use whole grain rolled oats, not instant oats. We used Bob’s Red Mill Organic Rolled Oats (Whole Grain), Gluten Free.
- Unsweetened Shredded Coconut: We used Bob’s Red Mill Unsweetened Shredded Coconut. Feel free to use your favorite unsweetened shredded coconut.
- Sea Salt: Please adjust the sea salt based upon your family’s sea salt preferences and/or based upon dietary needs.
Kitchen Equipment:
- Food processor
- Small (1 Tablespoon) cookie scoop (optional)
If you try these festive bliss balls, we would love to know if you enjoy it as much as we do! Please leave us a review! Post a picture on Facebook or Instagram and tag us! We would love to hear from you.
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Cranberry Orange Bliss Balls
- Prep Time: 20 Minutes
- Total Time: 20 Minutes (+30 Minute Rest Time)
- Yield: 22 Bliss Balls 1x
- Category: Dessert, Snacks
- Diet: Vegan
Description
These Cranberry Orange Bliss Balls are the ultimate bite-sized treat: sweet, tart, and bursting with bright citrus flavor that tastes like sunshine in every mouthful.
Ingredients
Base Ingredients
- 9 Medjool dates, pitted
- ½ cup rolled oats *
- ½ cup [raw] almond slivers
- 2/3 + ¼ cup dried cranberries, divided
- Zest of 1 orange (approx. 1 teaspoon packed)
- 3 to 4 Tablespoons orange juice
- ¼ + 1/8 teaspoon sea salt *
Optional Coating
- ¼ cup unsweetened shredded coconut *
- Zest of 1 orange
- 1 teaspoon dry sugar (of choice) *
Instructions
- Place all the Base Ingredients (2/3 cup of dried cranberries – see Step 3) into a food processor and process until the mixture starts to come together in a lump, approximately 1 minute.
- Test the “dough mixture” by pinching it to see if it holds together easily. If too dry, add an additional 1 to 2 teaspoons of orange juice, repeat until the dough holds together nicely. If too wet, add an additional tablespoon of rolled oats, repeat until the dough forms a big lump in the food processor.
- Add the remaining ¼ cup of dried cranberries and pulse off and on for 5 seconds (or less) just to break up the cranberries into small pieces.
- When the mixture holds it shape easily, scoop up 1 tablespoon (or a small cookie scoop) of the mixture, roll into a firm ball and set on a plate. Repeat until all the mixture has been rolled into balls. Place the plate in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to firm up.
- If making the Optional Coating, place all the Optional Coating Ingredients into a small bowl and pinch and grind (with your fingertips) the orange zest into the shredded coconut and sugar, this takes about 1 to 2 minutes. This will infuse the orange flavor into the coconut and sugar with the natural oils of the orange zest. Then roll the bliss balls into the coating and set on a plate. Place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to firm up.
- Once firm, move to an air-tight container, then store them in the refrigerator. They also freeze well.
Notes
Please reference the blog post for Tips for Success, Pantry Products Used, Storage and Freezing, and Kitchen Equipment Used.
Sea Salt: Please adjust the sea salt based upon your family’s sea salt preferences and/or based upon dietary needs.
Servings: Makes 22 balls
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