chocolate peanut butter balls

Okay, here they are! I'm posting a little bit later than I'd like, but I couldn't resist the juxtaposition of posting these while I'm watching the Biggest Loser. I'm also eating them while watching it...take that, Jillian! (I have to get some kind of revenge for the pain she inflicts during the 30 Day Shred!)

These are tiny little balls of deliciousness. I had a craving for peanut butter and chocolate a few weeks ago, and literally googled "cocoa powder peanut butter" because that's all I had in the cupboard, and this is what I got:

Looks awesome, right? Right. These things are so easy - no baking, no heat, no sharp objects - so they'd probably be pretty fun to make with kids, if that's your bag. The hardest part about making these puppies is not eating them all right away. Confession time: one time I made a quarter batch, all for myself. And ate it with  a spoon. That's right, they're that good! So let's get down to business...


Chocolate Peanut Butter Balls
Makes about 3 dozen
Ingredients:
3/4 cup peanut butter*
1/2 cup honey
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1-2 tbsp. cocoa powder (I always go for 2)
1 cup rolled oats (plus more for rolling)
1 cup chopped peanuts (plus more for rolling)*
1 cup shredded coconut (plus more for rolling)
*I would guess that it'd work just as well with almond butter, or some other substitute, for anyone who's got a peanut allergy...Haven't tested it myself, but I don't see why it wouldn't!

Step one: assemble the troops. This might be the hardest part of the whole process, and it's pretty easy. Done that? Great. Next up, mix the peanut butter, honey, vanilla, and cocoa powder in a bowl, and give it a lovely little stir.

Still waiting for it to get harder? Not gonna happen. Next step is to add the oats, peanuts, and coconut.

Last but not least, give that a big stir. Make sure you get it all nice and mixed up, because you wouldn't want any little pockets of plain chocolate goo now, would you? When that's done, you should have something that looks a bit like this:

Alright, now for the fun messy bit. Take spoonfuls of the mixture and roll them into balls. Go for whatever size you feel like, but I probably wouldn't recommend anything bigger than 1" round. Otherwise it's just a bit much to handle.

Once they're all rolled up, you can go the extra mile and dip or roll them in the extra toppings. I personally prefer just getting the tops of them extra delicious, but this is about whatever makes you happy.

These little guys? Make me happy. They're good as they are, better after they've been refrigerated, and I've even popped some into the freezer for the boy to take to work in his lunch. Hope you like 'em as much as we do!
c.