The dates are there to provide stickiness and structure as well as sweetness. You could probably throw in a couple tablespoons of nut butter or coconut oil and cut down to a cup of dates, and/or throw in more cacao/cocoa to offset the sweetness.

Here's a guide on how to get the right ratio of ingredients when making these kind of no bake bites. Heads up: The blogger loves the word "healthy."

From that post:

Energy Ball Troubleshooting Tips

1. Use at least ½ cup of a sticky dried fruit (like dates or dried figs)


2. Nuts & seeds can be changed out for anything, as long as it adds up to that 1 cup


3. You can swap up to ⅓ cup of the nuts and seeds for oats/quinoa flakes


4. If you add cacao powder (or any other powder like protein powder, etc.) increase the nut butter or oil by at least 1 tablespoon for every 2 tablespoons of powder


5. If the mixture isn’t coming together & you don’t want to add more oil/nut butter, add some water (but no more than 2 tablespoons per recipe)

The good news is if you decide to experiment with this, you can taste as you go and eat whatever you end up with, even if you have to use a spoon. :D