Marzipan Energy Balls

Name: Marzipan Energy Balls
Prep time: 20 min
Total time: 2 h 20 min
Yield: 6
Ingredients: ☐ ½ cup (60g) almond flour; ☐ ¼ cup (28g) vanilla protein powder; ☐ 1 Tbsp (12g) granulated allulose; ☐ a pinch of salt; ☐ 2 Tbsp (30ml) water,; ☐ ½ tsp almond extract; ☐ 15g (about ½ oz) very dark chocolate; ☐ 2 Tbsp (16g) slivered almonds,

Prep Time 20 mins Cool/Rest Time 2 hrs Total Time 2 hrs 20 mins

1.5g net carbs

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Author: Heather Varaleau Meal & Course: Desserts, Snacks

Difficulty: Beginner Servings: 6 Calories: 110 Beast Season: Suitable throughout the year Dietary Tags:

Description

Soft, marzipan-inspired energy balls made with almond flour, vanilla protein powder, and almond extract. Finish them with dark chocolate and toasted almonds, or keep things simple and enjoy them uncoated

Yield: 6 servings of 1 ball (29g) each, totaling 6 balls (171g)

Prep Time: 20 minutes | Chill Time: 2 hours

Storage: refrigerated for up to 5 days.

Ingredients

☐ ½ cup (60g) almond flour
☐ ¼ cup (28g) vanilla protein powder
☐ 1 Tbsp (12g) granulated allulose (or equivalent in sweetener of choice Ⓠ (optional or to taste))
☐ a pinch of salt ((equal to half a ⅛ tsp))
☐ 2 Tbsp (30ml) water, (or slightly more, as needed)
☐ ½ tsp almond extract ((sugar-free))
☐ 15g (about ½ oz) very dark chocolate (or keto-friendly chocolate of choice (I'm using 1½ squares of Lindt 90%))
☐ 2 Tbsp (16g) slivered almonds, (chopped (I like to toast them first — 4-6 minutes at 350°F [175°C] ))

Instructions

Combine the almond flour, protein powder, allulose, and salt in small mixing bowl.
Drizzle with the water and almond extract and mix to form a thick dough. The amount of water needed may vary slightly with the type of protein powder used. Add more water a teaspoon at a time if necessary.
Divide into 6 pieces of about 21g (or 1½ tablespoons) each.
Roll the pieces into balls and place them on a tray/plate. I like to skewer mine with short wooden skewers for easier dipping/coating once chilled.
Put the balls in the refrigerator to chill for about an hour. See note.
Melt the chocolate in a very small bowl (ideally just a little wider than the balls). I break the chocolate into smallish pieces and melt it in the microwave in 20 second pulses, mixing between. It only takes about 40 seconds in total.
Put the chopped almonds in another small bowl.
Dip the balls in the chocolate and then roll in the chopped almonds. Mine are only about two thirds covered in chocolate and nuts. If you wish to fully cover them, you'll need a bit more chocolate and nuts.
Place the balls back on the plate/tray and chill again until the chocolate has hardened, about an hour. You may wish to put some parchment on the plate/tray for easy removal of the balls. Or, if you have something you can stand the skewers up in, you can chill them like lollipops (I use the holes in a stack of sheets from my small dehydrator for this).
Enjoy chilled or at room temperature. See note.

Used to Make This Recipe

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Nutrition Facts

Servings 6

Serving Size 1 Ball (about 27g)

Amount Per Serving
Calories 110kcal

% Daily Value *
Total Fat 8g13%
Total Carbohydrate 5.5g2%
Dietary Fiber 2g8%
Protein 7g15%

Allulose 2g
Net Carbs 1.5g

* Total Carbs - (Fiber + Allulose + Sugar Alcohols) = Net Carbs

Notes

Marzipan sometimes contains rose water, so if that appeals to you, you can replace a bit of the water with rose water.
When it comes to dipping and drizzling, I often prefer to use "normal" super dark chocolate despite the higher carbs. I find that keto chocolate includes things that make them less liquid when melted (e.g. soluble fibers). A little coconut oil can be added to negate this, but then the chocolate doesn't harden in a satifying way and will often melt or soften easily at room temperature. I also prefer the flavor of super dark chocolate. For perspective, 15g (1½ squares) of Lindt 90% contains 2g net carbs and 14g (about a heaped tablespoon) of ChocZero dark chips has 1g net carbs.
I like to chill the balls, dip/coat, and then chill again because I want the chocolate to firm up a bit on contact with the cold balls. If you prefer, you can dip/coat and then just chill the once, but it might be a messier approach.
Depending on the chocolate you used to coat the balls, they may melt at room temperature.

Keywords: marzipan energy balls, marzipan protein balls, almond energy balls, almond protein balls, protein energy balls, high-protein energy balls, low-carb energy balls, keto energy balls, vegan energy balls, almond flour energy balls, no-bake protein balls, almond flour protein balls, chocolate almond energy balls, marzipan protein bites

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Frequently Asked Questions

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Can I make this recipe nut-free?

Technically, yes. I didn't give nut-free options in the ingredient list because it would be a completely different recipe (and marzipan itself is almond-based). However, if you want to make a nut-free version of these balls, I'd suggest using sunflower seed flour instead of almond flour and replacing the slivered almonds with chopped toasted pumpkin seeds. You can either omit the almond extract or replace it with another extract like maple or coconut. The net carbs for this version will be 2.5g and the other macros and calories will be more or less the same.

Can I make these without the chocolate and chopped nuts?

Yes. If you want to make this recipe simpler, you can omit these. A serving without the chocolate and chopped nuts will have: 80 calories | 6g protein | 5.5g fat | 1g net carbs.

What data is used to calculate the calories and macros?

When available, I typically use NCCDB data in Cronometer to calculate calories and macros. There are a few items that I choose to use label data for instead, despite the availability of NCCDB data. This is because I've found that the label data differs substantially and consistently for these foods. In this recipe, I have used label data for chocolate (Lindt 90%) and protein powder (Vega Sport Vanilla). Be aware that both NCCDB and label data change over time and so what I've given here may have changed since the recipe was first published.

The calorie and macro numbers on your recipes seem oddly uniform. Why is that?

Counting calories and macros can negatively affect mental health by being time-consuming and by creating an obsession with inconsequential levels of detail. In an effort to mitigate this, numbers are rounded. In most cases, numbers equal to or greater than 10g are rounded to the nearest whole number (e.g. 10g, 11g, 12g, etc.) and numbers below 10g are rounded to the nearest 0.5g (0.5g, 1g, 1.5g ... 9g, 9.5g). Any numbers below 0.5g are given as is (e.g. 0.1g, 0.2g, etc.). Calories are rounded to the nearest multiple of 5.

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