Date Balls

After struggling to form balls from the resulting mixture, I found other recipes that scaled the ingredients differently. Reduce the crispy rice cereal to only one cup, and you should have very good results. With three cups of the cereal, you will have difficulty forming balls that hold together.

The problem other people are having with the recipe is because of the type of dates used. If you use a chopped date made for snacking, it has a coating on it to keep it from sticking together. This makes them hard to melt and removes stickiness. Baking dates on the other hand come all clumped together and melt easily. Amport is a good brand. Rule: if it don't stick in bag, it won't make balls.

I followed the advice of other commenters and reduced the rice crispies to 1 cup. I also changed out the margarine for butter. Finally, I bought chipped pecans because the chopped ones at my store weren't chopped enough and I didn't want to fool with chopping them. I made them for a ladies tea party event and they seemed to be a big hit.

3 stars for frustration level. Read the reviews and scaled sugar back to 3/4 cup, crispies to one cup, and I still had the crumbliness going on when trying to form the balls. Pressed it into a pan like one reviewer suggested: nope, fell apart. Pressed it into mini cupcake tins: nope, fell apart. Refrigerated it in the the hopes that the fat would solidify to bell hold everything together: nope, fell apart. As I was about to chuck it out in frustration, I remember that dates are naturally sticky, so I threw the mixture into a food processor and voila! Sticky dough perfect for rolling. It wasn’t nearly as crunchy as before, so next time I’ll try processing everything but the crispies, then mix those in by hand afterwards. Also, my personal preference is they are still way too sweet. I’ll try cutting sugar back even more.

after misplacing my usual Date Ball recipe, I gave this one a try. very tasty, but like others the mixture is too dry. I aborted trying to roll it into balls after the second one and pressed it into a 9x13 like Rice Crispy Treats and dusted with powdered sugar. crumbly, but very good!

It is impossible to make balls with this recipe. There is way too much Rice Krispies in the recipe. You should redo it or remove it.

I made these the 1st time with the "candied like " dates. That was a disaster then I read in your reviews that you used the soft ones so made them a 2nd time and they were wonderful!! My mother made these every Christmas and she has been gone 5 years now and I crave some of her recipes. Now this recipe is exactly like she made. Thank you so much!!!

I used to roll these but one time was in a rush, so time consuming, I now put into a rectangular pan, and cut into squares. They always get rave reviews. PS also add craisins 1/4 c. To the dates. Cuts the super sweetness.

This was an old family recipe that I grew up with every holiday season. When my home burned a few years back I lost my recipe - I knew what it had in it, but couldn't remember amounts. I was thrilled to find this and eager to make a batch or three. I did make a few changes that I'll share in the hope it will help folks who are having problems with their cookies not holding together. Be SURE to use baking/cooking dates and use cooking shears to snip them into small pieces. I use butter rather than margarine, and I limit the Rice Krispies to one cup. I also use very very finely chopped pecans. When you go to make them into balls, don't try to roll them between your hands. You want to squeeze it as though it's an exercise ball, working it around in your hand until it makes a 1" ball. You'll feel butter squeezing out between your fingers, but you also don't need to coat your hands with margarine! My mother always said these were a hybrid between candy and cookie - as they cool they become sticky like working with chewy buttery candy rather than a doughy cookie. When they're done they're tender and yummy kept at room temp. I hope you enjoy as much as my family always has!!

Agree, they wouldn't stick to form any ball. Ingredients listed are not the right ratio. I found another recipe online that worked.

I think you should specify baking or cooking chopped dates which are found in the baking aisle and come in a solid lump as people may not be aware of them. I omitted the chopped pecans and used an extra up of crispy rice cereal. I rolled my balls in shredded coconut instead of powdered sugar. I was able to get 5 1/2 dozen from my single batch. They taste wonderful. Thank you for using an eggless recipe. I think it makes them vegan.

I made this, but tweaked just a little. Instead of rolling into balls, i pressed onto a cookie sheet, and added a nice layer of toasted coconut. The rice crispies made for a wonderful texture. I will definitely be making this again.

Unable to roll into balls. Not sure what happened. I'm going to melt marshmallows and pour over dry mixture to see if they can form into balls.

I tried something a little different, I didnt have dates so I used figs ( they say they can incorporate each other, also I had colored rice krispies. I also put a little powder sugar in my coconut. They taste good.

I didn’t have a problem forming these into balls. I used the recipe exactly as written. I used whole pitted dates that I chopped myself which I think is probably key. The taste was ok, however, I did find the consistency to be off. I’m trying to find a recipe similar to the date balls my grandmother used to make. I remember hers being dense, chewy, with a strong flavor of dates. These balls were very crispy and hard, and the date flavor was very mild. It made eating them a chore. If I made these again, I would probably up the amount of dates to 1.5 cups, and reduce the amount of rice cereal to two cups. Hopefully this would result in a more chewy consistency.

My husband said they tasted exactly like the cookies his grandmother made when he was a little boy. :)

Went by recipe except I only used 2 cups crispies.. I let it cool really good. At first I grabbed a small amount and thought oh Lord .. no forming a ball as all stuck to my hands. ...until I got smart and got a cup of warm water wetting tips of fingers. Wallah!! Solved problem! Formed my not so perfect balls and turned out great. Good recipe, tastes great.

Made it just the way it is shown once, and once with about 3/4 cup sugar. Was thoroughly enjoyed both ways.

These are delicious! I have been making them for Christmas for about 30 years. It wouldn’t be Christmas without them.

tastes good but I think the rice cereal needs to be crushed instead of whole.

Love this recipe! I am gluten free this year, and no peanut butter...so was very sad to missing peanut butter balls, but not anymore! These are DELICOUS!!! THANK YOU FOR SHARING!