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These No-Bake Coconut Krispie Date Balls are made with dates and Rice Krispies and rolled in coconut. This classic Christmas cookie is a requirement in my house!
I know it’s mid-December but I decided we’re going to share cookie recipes all week because all I’ve been doing lately is making batch of batch of cookies for all my holiday gift baskets. Seriously, my freezer is about to bust open.
It wouldn’t be Christmas without a batch of Mom’s Coconut Krispie Date Balls. She also calls these “adventure cookies”. Every year my mom makes a big batch of these no-bake cookies. These never last long in our house.
These no-bake date balls are mixed with Rice Krispie cereal and coated in coconut. These popular cookies have been around for as long as I can remember. This recipe was passed to my mother before I was born, but I know I’ve seen it all over the Internet, but that’s okay because for me, these “cookies” mean it must be Christmas time.
I love these because they freeze well, which means you can prepare them in advance and gift them to family and friends. I always include these cookies in my holiday gift baskets. This recipe also makes quite a large batch, making them ideal for cookie exchanges.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Dates- pitted and chopped
- Unsalted butter
- Granulated sugar
- Large eggs
- Milk
- Pure vanilla extract
- Rice Krispie cereal
- Sweetened shredded coconut
How to Make Coconut Balls
- First melt the butter, sugar and dates together until it’s lightly boiling.
- In a separate bowl, combine eggs, milk and vanilla extract.
- Temper the eggs. Since you will be adding the hot date mixture to the eggs, you want to work quickly to try and prevent them from scrambling. Add some of the hot mixture to the eggs first and stir it quickly to incorporate it into the eggs, then throw the eggs back into the saucepan and whisk vigorously until it’s well blended.
- Stir in the Rice Krispies and mix until thoroughly combined and allow the mixture too cool until you can handle it to the touch.
- Use your hands or spoons to make the balls and then roll them in coconut. They will be very sticky, so I like to use gloves.
Tips for Success
Kitchen gloves: Dates can be super sticky, so I recommend using a pair of gloves when pitting and chopping the dates and when rolling these in coconut.
Don’t cook the eggs! The mixture of butter, dates and sugar will be warm when you add the eggs and milk. Stir constantly to prevent the eggs from cooking into a solid.
Spray your spatula: This mixture is very sticky. If you spray a silicone spatula with cooking spray, it helps prevent the mixer from sticking to the spatula.
How to Store Them
These cookies are best once they have had a chance to set and cool completely, I also prefer them to be cold, so I keep them in the refrigerator or even the freezer, then I can pull out just a few at a time!
These Freeze Well
Prepare the coconut balls as directed and place in the refrigerator to set. Once they are set, transfer to an airtight container. To prevent them from sticking together, place a layer of parchment or wax paper between them.
Coconut Krispie Date Balls
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 42 cookies
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These No-Bake Coconut Krispie Date Balls are made with dates and Rice Krispies and rolled in coconut. This classic Christmas cookie is a requirement in my house!
Ingredients
- 11 ounces (311g) dates, chopped
- 1 cup (226g) unsalted butter
- 1 ½ cups (285g) granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, slightly beaten
- 1 tablespoons (15ml) milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 6 cups (160g) Rice Krispie cereal (or similar cereal)
- 1 bag (7 ounces/ 198g) sweetened shredded coconut
Instructions
- Remove pits and chop dates into small pieces, about the size of a dime. Dates are very sticky, if you have latex gloves, I would suggest using them.
- In a large saucepan, melt butter and sugar together, stirring occasionally until the butter is melted.
- Turn the heat to low and add chopped dates and cook until mixture is boiling, about 15 to 20 minutes. Stir frequently to prevent mixture from burning.
- In a separate bowl, combine eggs, milk and vanilla extract. Once the mixture is boiling, take about ¼ cup of the mixture and pour it into the eggs, and whisk constantly to temper the eggs.
- Remove the saucepan from the stovetop and pour the egg mixture back into the saucepan. You will want to work quickly so they do not become scrambled.
- Return mixture to the stovetop and boil for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove the mixture from the heat. In a large mixing bowl, combine rice cereal with date mixture and stir until evenly coated. Allow the mixture to cool until it can be handled.
- Shape date mixture into balls (1 to 2 tablespoons in size) and place on a sheet pan. For a higher yield, reduce the size of the balls.
- Place the shredded coconut in a separate bowl and roll each date ball (one at a time) in the shredded coconut, gently pressing coconut into the dates. Refrigerate the date balls for one hour. Store in an airtight container and keep refrigerated or frozen.
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: Coconut Date Balls, No-Bake Cookies, Christmas Cookies, Rice Krispie Date Balls
My grandma use to make these & rolled them in oowdered sugar. I had lost the recipe, thank you for posting!
You’re welcome Debbie!
I used to make these delights over 30 years ago then I forgot all about them I have the hand written recipe in one of my very old recipe boxes I dug out of a box. The only difference was that they were made with whole Corn Flakes. Can’t wait to make them again
★★★★★
That sounds delicious! Thanks for sharing Lorie!
Would not stick together. I have never had this problem before
Hi Martha, I have not experienced that either. Did you use prechopped dates? Perhaps the mixture was overcooked? I am not certain because in all the years we’ve been making this, I am not sure what would have caused this.
Still not sure how to temper the eggs. Can you explain further?
Once the butter and dates are warm, add some of the hot mixture (about 1-2 tablespoons) to the egg mixture (milk, eggs, vanilla). Immediately stir it quickly to incorporate it into the eggs, then throw the eggs back into the saucepan with the dates and butter and whisk vigorously until it’s well blended.
There is a video of this recipe, and if you allow it to load, you can watch and see how I do it
I bought chopped dates. Since your recipe is for 11 oz whole dates with pits, I am assuming that I need less than 11 oz. Looking at other similar recipes online, it looks like 2 cups of chopped dates should work. This was a family favorite when I was growing up, but I no longer have my mom’s recipe, and this seems really close to hers. Thank you for sharing!
I hope you enjoy Jo Ann!
My daughters favorite cookie. She is gluten and dairy free. So I substituted almond milk for the milk. I also used generic Rice Krispies this year. Wear disposable rubber gloves because the mixture is pretty sticky as you roll them into balls. Freezes well.
★★★★★
Yeah! I love to hear that and thanks for the tip on the almond milk!