Tahini Caramel Bliss Balls (vegan, gluten-free)

If your dates have been refrigerated or are not soft, then you will need to soften them. Place the dates in a medium bowl. Pour in enough hot tap water to submerge them and soak until softened. It's going to depend on your dates, and it can take anywhere from 5 to 20 minutes (mine only took 5 minutes), so start checking at the 5 minute mark. The skin should be very loose, and the inside soft and mushy when you squeeze it.

In the meantime, place the rolled oats, cashews, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, and salt in the bowl of a food processor and process until ground into a coarse fine crumb. You don't want any big chunks. (You can get an idea of how it should look in the middle picture. I know I should have taken a picture while it was in the processor, but yeah hindsight. ha) Pour into a large mixing bowl, and whisk in the flaxmeal and hemp seeds ; set aside.

Drain the dates when they're ready, and place the dates in the food processor. Don't throw away the soaking water though. You're going to use some of it for the recipe. You can store the remainder, in a sealed jar in your fridge, and use it to lightly sweeten other treats.

Add the tahini, coconut oil, maple syrup, water, and vanilla extract to the dates and process. until smooth and no lumps remain. Scrape the caramel into the oat mixture and use a hand or stand mixer to combine the ingredients.

Using a cookie scoop (I used a 1 1/2 tablespoon scooper), scoop up the dough and roll the mixture into balls with your hands. Place on a parchment lined rimmed cookie sheet. Once you have finished, place the pan in the refrigerator for 2 hours. Once they're ready, remove the sheet from the fridge and leave on the counter while you prepare the drizzle.

Place the chocolate chips and coconut oil in a medium-small microwave safe bowl. Heat in increments of 30 seconds, stirring after each, until the sauce is melted and smooth. You can either drizzle the chocolate over the balls or dunk the bliss balls into the chocolate with two spoons. Place back onto the cookie sheet. Place back into the refrigerator for 15 minutes, or until the chocolate is set. Store the bliss balls in an airtight container in the fridge.