I’ve got a lot of time to bake during the global pandemic, since just about everything is closed or cancelled. So, I’m adding an extra cookie this year that I don’t always make. These Coconut Krispie Date Balls were Grandma Leone’s specialty, and she made them every Christmas. They’re like little Rice Krispie Treat balls held together with dates instead of marshmallows, and rolled in flaked coconut. They are no bake, but it takes a bit of time to melt the dates and form the cookies. However, they taste fantastic and provide a nice variety to all the chocolate and butter based Christmas cookies. Grandma used to make these and have them waiting for us when we got to her house for Christmas. She lived in Hurley, WI, where they always had an insane amount of snow every winter. Snow banks were 4 to 5 feet high. Now that’s a real white Christmas. Here in New Mexico, snow is rare, and it usually melts in 1-2 days. But these little coconut covered date balls remind me of being a kid and playing in the snow. We used to climb the trees and jump off into the deep snow with a satisfying “poof”. Once you started digging yourself out, it was really important not to lose your snow boots while you were climbing back up to the surface. If Mom had to come outside to find your lost boot, she’d be mad. And she would definitely not offer you a cookie. And those homemade Coconut Krispie Date Ball cookies never lasted long.
Looking for another easy coconut cookie recipe to use up the rest of the bag of coconut? Try super easy Magic Cookie Bars, or slightly more time consuming 3 Layer Bars. But while these Coconut Krispie Date Balls can stand in as simple date-based energy balls, those others are just plain dessert. But they’re totally worth it.
Coconut Krispie Date Balls
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 8 oz. dates chopped
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 3 cups Rice Krispie cereal
- 3 oz. flaked sweetened coconut
Instructions
- Melt the butter in a large skillet or very large saucepen over medium heat.
- Add the dates, vanilla, sugar and eggs, stirring constantly. If the eggs start to cook, turn down the heat.
- You want the eggs, dates, sugar and butter to melt together into a sticky goo that will hold your cookies together. Cook and stir for at least 10 minutes, or until the dates are mostly melted into the rest of the mixture.
- Gently stir in the rice krispies, stirring carefully to avoid breaking the cereal.
- Butter your hands generously, then take a scoop of cereal-date mixture and form it into small ball.
- Roll the sticky miss into a bowl of coconut flakes.
- Cool the cookies in the refrigerator to firm them up, or eat them as is and enjoy the krispie texture.
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