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Pineapple Balls

A wonderfully easy and delicious 4-ingredient snack: Pineapple Balls
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or scroll for handy tips and a little nostalgia.

pineapple balls stacked on plate.

These Pineapple Balls are a delicious little snack that can be made with just 4 ingredients and whipped together in 5 minutes flat.

Sometimes called Pineapple Snowballs, they are also a popular treat at Christmas time. But I say make them any time of the year – they’re too good to make only once a year!

pineapple balls

The Recipe for Pineapple Balls

The recipe I’ve used here is the quick and easy modern recipe for Pineapple Bliss Balls.

It’s inspired by the recipe that many home cooks share around and that can be found on the Golden Circle website.

Golden Circle is, of course, a brand that was born and bred in Australia. The Northgate cannery in Queensland, which began operations in 1947, now produces over 150,000 tonnes per year of canned pineapple, fruit juices and cordials.

Back in 1947, though, tinned pineapple must have been such a wonderful ingredient to inspire new recipes.

During the 1950s and 1960s, “Pineapple Snowball” was one of those recipes, appearing in various Australian newspapers.

The recipes for Pineapple Snowballs, whether early or modern, share two common ingredients – crushed pineapple and coconut.

pineapple snowball recipe
From The Manning River Times and Advocate for the Northern Coast Districts of New South Wales, March 1950 and The Australian Women’s Weekly, July 1962.

As I mentioned above, I have used a more modern recipe here and haven’t tested these recipes above that include raw egg or gelatine.

If you do try one of these older recipes, I’d love to hear how you go in the comments below.

Otherwise, keep scrolling for the Pineapple Balls recipe in the recipe card at the end of this post.

Ingredients for Pineapple Balls

To make these little balls of sunshine, you’ll need:

  • 250 grams Marie Biscuits (or any other plain, sweet biscuits)
  • 440 grams crushed pineapple (in syrup or juice)
  • 395 grams condensed milk
  • 1 1/2 cups shredded coconut (unsweetened).
pineapple balls ingredients

How to make Pineapple Balls

Start by crushing biscuits to a fine crumb. You can use a food processor or chopper or simply place the biscuits in a freezer bag and crush them using a rolling pin.

Next, drain the crushed pineapple and discard (or drink!) the juice or syrup.

Combine the biscuits crumbs, drained crushed pineapple, condensed milk and 1/2 cup of the shredded coconut – the remaining cup of coconut will be used to coat the balls.

Scoop out tablespoons of mixture and roll into balls. Roll each ball in the remaining shredded coconut.

Place balls onto a tray and place into fridge for at least 2 hours to allow pineapple balls to set.

Once set, store in the fridge.

But be sure to sit down first with a cuppa and enjoy your hard work!

pineapple balls close up

Recipe FAQs

Q. How long will they keep?

Stored in an airtight container in the fridge, they should last up to 5 days.

Q. How do I crush the biscuits?

If you have a food processor or chopper, use that. Otherwise, simply place the biscuits in a freezer bag and crush them using a rolling pin.

Q. Do I use crushed pineapple in syrup or juice?

It really doesn’t matter as you drain the syrup/juice before using the pineapple. The pineapple in syrup may be slightly little sweeter, but you probably won’t notice a difference.

Q. Do you have any other recipes like this one?

Certainly! Try my Rum Balls, Apricot Balls, Tim Tam Balls, Snowballs, Crunchy Peanut Balls, Christmas Balls or Midori Balls – they’re all great!

pineapple balls stacked on plate.

Pineapple Balls

A wonderfully easy and delicious 4-ingredient snack: Pineapple Balls
4.34 from 3 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Dessert, Snack
Cuisine: Australian
Keyword: pineapple balls, pineapple snowballs
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Setting time: 2 hours
Total Time: 2 hours 5 minutes
Servings: 24 balls
Calories: 137kcal

Ingredients

  • 250 grams Marie Biscuits (or any other plain, sweet biscuits)
  • 440 grams crushed pineapple (in syrup or juice)
  • 395 grams condensed milk
  • 1 1/2 cups shredded coconut (unsweetened)

Instructions

  • Crush biscuits to a fine crumb.
  • Drain crushed pineapple and discard (or drink!) juice or syrup.
  • Combine biscuits crumbs, drained crushed pineapple, condensed milk and 1/2 cup of the shredded coconut.
  • Scoop out tablespoons of mixture and roll into a ball. Roll in the remaining shredded coconut.
  • Place balls onto a tray and place into fridge for at least 2 hours to allow pineapple balls to set.
  • Store in fridge.

Nutrition

Calories: 137kcal | Carbohydrates: 23g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 6mg | Sodium: 90mg | Potassium: 120mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 17g | Vitamin A: 53IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 59mg | Iron: 1mg
Recipe Rating




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Geeta Shukla

Sunday 13th of August 2023

MY BATTER DIDNT FORM INTO A BALL. Please help me, I have a bowl of batter that is ooey gooey and unedible. Help me Libby hakim. My whole family need to eat. HELP

Geeta Shukla

Sunday 13th of August 2023

Libby Hakim, thank you you saved my family from going hungry. I owe this debt to you for a lifetime. Now I can enjoy my pinapple balls knowing that there are some kind people left in this world. THANK YOU.

Libby Hakim

Sunday 13th of August 2023

Hi Geeta. Did you remember to drain the juice or syrup from the pineapple? And measured out the biscuits crumbs correctly? They should hold together, but to fix this problem add some more biscuit crumbs or coconut and place in fridge before rolling into balls. Then your family will all be enjoying Pineapple Balls :)

LOvely

Wednesday 12th of April 2023

Sweetened or Unsweetened for the coconut?

Libby Hakim

Thursday 13th of April 2023

Hi! It's unsweetened. I'll add that in (we don't really have sweetened coconut in Australia as far as I'm aware, or it's not as popular at least). Thanks!

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