Who wouldn’t like both a healthy and quick home-made snack? Oh ya! These easy Double Chocolate Cherry Energy Balls are the wholesome snack your sweet tooth is looking for. Not only are they packed with protein, but also are ready in just 15 minutes.

Why This Recipe Works

Without a doubt, energy balls are the perfect snack for a handful of reasons. Firstly, they have the perfect amount of fat and carbs to keep you going. Secondly, these balls have all the textures: soft yet crunchy with chewy bits. Lastly, they have double the chocolate! You can’t go wrong with that. All in all, they are the best healthy and delicious snack that the whole family will love.

If you like this energy ball recipe, you’ll love my Apple Cinnamon ones made with fresh apples.

Chocolate Cherry Energy Ball Ingredients

Nut Butter

Just the word butter makes my mouth water. Since there is a variety of nut butters out there, choose your favorite. Any nut or seed butter will work in this recipe, i.e. almond, peanut, cashew, or sunflower.

I prefer almond butter for this energy ball, but peanut butter is a pantry staple at our house, so I use that sometimes too. Although nut butters are high in fat, it is the healthy fat that your body needs (in moderation).

Almond butter is high in monounsaturated fats. Monounsaturated fats help to lower LDL (“bad”) cholesterol and raise HDL (“good”) cholesterol. 

WebMD, Health Benefits of Almond Butter

Double Chocolate

To emphasize the chocolate, this recipe is doubling up on the chocolate for a rich and scrumptious snack.

Chocolate Chips

As if you needed more reasons to eat chocolate (also in moderation). Here are a few health benefits of eating dark chocolate, according to WebMD’s article, Chocolate: Is it Good For You?:

• Contains Minerals, Antioxidants, Flavonoids
• Cardiovascular support
• Helps protect cells from inflammation
• Boosts morale and Energy

With this in mind, go for chocolate chips that contain 60-70% cocoa, or higher. Additionally, this means that it contains less sugar. Undoubtedly, I can attest to it boosting morale, who doesn’t feel better eating chocolate?

If you keep a dairy-free diet, then choose dairy free chocolate chips.

Cocoa Powder

You may have noticed 2 different cocoa powders at the store: Natural and Dutch Process. Both are made by the cracking of cacao beans into nibs, then grinding them into a paste. Once there is a paste, the cocoa butter is extracted and you’re left with cocoa powder.

At this point it is Natural Cocoa Powder. Natural cocoa powder not only has a sharp fruity flavor, but also is the most common cocoa powder found in grocery stores.

On the other hand, there is Dutch Process cocoa powder. Dutch process cocoa powder is made similar to the natural, however there is a final step: alkalizing.

Dutch process cocoa powder is washed with a potassium carbonate solution that neutralizes cocoa’s acidity.

Serious Eats article, What’s the Difference Between Dutch Process and Natural Cocoa Powder? by Marissa Sertich Velie

Not only does the Dutch process create a darker richer hue of cocoa powder, but it also mellows the flavor to an earthy, more woodsy taste.

Some cocoa powders are dutched more heavily to achieve a black cocoa powder. For instance, Oreo cookies.

Also worth mentioning is that since Dutch process cocoa is alkalized (isn’t acidic), it doesn’t react to leaveners like baking soda to help baked goods rise. Therefore, recipes that are specific to Dutch process cocoa typically call for baking powder, which has a neautral pH.

Since this recipe isn’t baked, either cocoa powder will work. However, dutching cocoa powder is not the healthiest, as it:

decreases its (cocoa powder’s) antioxidant properties, polyphenols, flavanols, and fatty acids.

The Chocolate Professor, Lisa Waterman Gray

Therefore, if you have the option, go for the Natural cocoa powder to reap all the health benefits.

Honey & Oats

Oats

Whole grain oats are both a good source of carbohydrates and fiber. They are easy to add into smoothies and these delicious chocolate cherry energy balls. If you need a few other reasons to add oats in your diet, here are some more, according to Hrefna Palsdottir’s article, “9 Health Benefits of Eating Oats and Oatmeal“:

• Rich in antioxidants, helping with anti-inflammatory and anti-itching
• Helps with a healthy gut
• Aids in lowering blood sugar levels

Honey

Being that honey is nature’s sweetener, it also has many health benefits. According to the Mayo Clinic, Honey aids in several categories, including suppressing coughs and reducing risks of heart disease.

Studies suggest that honey might offer antidepressant, anticonvulsant and anti-anxiety benefits. In some studies, honey has been shown to help prevent memory disorders.

Mayo Clinic

Cherry

Without doubt, cherries and chocolate go together like Thelma & Louise. Since cherries are on the tart side, they are perfectly balanced with the rich slightly sweet taste of chocolate. This recipe calls for the use of dried cherries, which are chewy and concentrated with that tart taste.

Mix Ins

At last, this is my favorite part! You can really make these balls your own with your favorite mix ins. Here are few other tasty additions to cherry and chocolate:

• Almonds
• Coconut
• Cinnamon
• Orange Zest
• Vanilla

How to Make Energy Balls

Being that energy balls are the easiest snack to make, you can have a tasty healthy snack in just 15 minutes! All you need is a bowl and a cookie scoop (if you have one), or a spoon will work too.

1. Start by whisking together almond butter, honey, cocoa powder, and almond extract.
2. Next stir in the rest of the ingredients.
3. Roll into balls and refrigerate.
4. Enjoy!

More Energy Ball Recipes

Pina Colada

Lemon Blueberry

Classic Peanut Butter

Pumpkin Spice

Apple Cinnamon

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