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Protein Packed Peanut Butter Balls
Yield: 18 (1¼-inch) balls (or 24－36 smaller balls*)
A wholesome list of pantry staples comes together easily for a good-for-you treat with a protein punch! 

Ingredients

  • ¾ cup (192g) creamy natural peanut butter
  • ½ cup (160g) honey
  • ¾ cup (60g) nonfat dry milk powder
  • ¾ cup (65g) quick oats (or pulse rolled oats in blender or food processor to form a coarse powder)
  • 2 tablespoons (15g) flaxseed meal
  • ¼ teaspoon kosher or sea salt, optional
  • 4 ounces (about ½ cup) good melting chocolate (dark or milk), plus more as needed**

Instructions

  1. In a mixing bowl, stir together the peanut butter and honey. Add the milk powder, quick oats, flaxseed meal and optional ¼ teaspoon salt, and stir to thoroughly combine.

    Using your hands, roll the dough into balls about the size of large gumballs. Place the balls on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and refrigerate to firm up, a few hours or overnight. (A firmer texture will make dipping in the warm chocolate easier. Cover them if you plan on leaving them overnight.)

    When ready to dip, warm the chocolate in a double boiler until melted. (Tip: Use of a double boiler prevents chocolate from scorching. If you don’t have one, you can fashion one with two pots that are close in size.) Dip the balls into the melted chocolate and roll to evenly coat. (I use a dinner fork.) Allow the excess chocolate to drip off, and then place the dipped balls onto another parchment paper-lined baking sheet. The melted chocolate will set more quickly if you place them in the refrigerator or freezer briefly once finished.

    Storage: Once set, you can transfer the balls to a tin or other airtight container. I like to store them in the refrigerator, moving some to room temperature before eating to allow the centers to soften. If you prefer, you may store them all at room temperature if your kitchen isn’t too warm. The chocolate peanut butter balls freeze well, too.

Notes

*The nutritional information is based on 18 balls, which are a fairly generous size three-bite size. You may absolutely roll them smaller for truly bite-size balls if preferred.
**A half cup of chocolate is about the right amount to coat the peanut butter balls, but for easier dipping, I find it helpful to start with a little more. If you don’t have melting chocolate, you may add a ½ tablespoon of coconut oil to each ½ cup of chocolate chips.

Nutrition information per ball (using yield of 18): 120 calories, 6 gm total fat, 2 gm saturated fat, 3 gm protein, 33 mg sodium, 16 gm total carbohydrate, 1.7 gm dietary fiber

Healthy tips:

  1. Look for all natural peanut butter, without added hydrogenated oils or palm oil.
  2. If you like extra crunch, try all natural crunchy peanut butter.
  3. You can also dust the peanut butter balls with crushed peanuts while the chocolate is still melted

A few more things:

  1. For those who enjoy the salty-sweet combination, a touch of flaky sea salt may be sprinkled on the chocolate before it sets.
  2. Cheryl’s original recipe calls for ½ cup of peanut butter, but my taste testers and I enjoyed the higher proportion of peanut butter to honey.
  3. I have yet to try, but I think pure maple syrup would be a lovely alternative to honey for those who enjoy. Also, agave would likely work well while offering a neutral flavor profile. Whichever sweetener you choose, feel free to taste before rolling, and add a little extra peanut butter if you’d like more creaminess and stronger peanut flavor.

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