Is anyone else feeling bombarded with too many white sugar and white flour filled holiday treats? I love a good sugar cookie as much as the next person, but really, enough is enough. If you’re ready to tone it down a bit while still having a delicious treat, this recipe is for you. These peanut butter snowballs are much healthier than the standard holiday cookie, bar, or candy, so you can enjoy one (or two) guilt-free. The recipe was actually born the other night out of total desperation. I had a serious craving for something sweet, but nothing to satisfy it. (I don’t keep sugary snacks around; if they aren’t here I can’t eat them, right?) So I threw a few simple ingredients I had on hand together and the result was fantastic. Tim and I loved these so much, I made another batch yesterday to bring with me to a Christmas party we’ll be attending later today. These would also make great little gifts for your neighbors; the white coconut on the outside next to the red dried fruits makes for a very festive-looking treat.
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Healthy Holiday Treat: Peanut Butter Snowballs
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 27 balls 1x
Description
A healthy, festive snack
Ingredients
- 1 cup natural peanut butter
- 1 cup honey
- 1 cup rolled oats (not instant)
- 2 cups dried fruit of choice, preferably red (I used a blend of cranberries, cherries, black currants, and pomegranate–you can use a mixture or just all one kind)
- 1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Put your coconut in a shallow bowl and set aside. In a medium bowl, mix together the peanut butter and honey. Add the rolled oats and dried fruit and stir to combine. You will have a very sticky mixture. With slightly wet hands, roll the mixture into approximately 1 1/2 inch balls.
- Roll the balls in the coconut and then place on the cookie sheet. Bake for 20 minutes, until the coconut is lightly toasted. Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly, then transfer to the freezer. Allow to stay in freezer 20-30 minutes. These can be served chilled or at room temperature.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Snacks
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 ball
- Calories: 156
- Sugar: 18.8g
- Sodium: 51.1mg
- Fat: 6.4g
- Carbohydrates: 24.4g
- Protein: 2.4g
The highly observant reader will notice that I accidentally used waxed paper instead of parchment paper. This could have proven to be a fatal mistake for my cookie sheet. Believe me, I know. I said I’d never make that mistake again…luckily the oven wasn’t hot enough and I didn’t keep the balls in long enough to do any damage and I was able to peel the paper off. Whew.
Meghan wasn’t in the mood to help in the kitchen but she had a lot of fun doing her own version of work in the kitchen.
She’s not wearing pants because we are in the midst of potty training over here. Let me just say that this is not my favorite part of parenting. ‘Nuff said.
There’s still time to enter to win TWO jars of organic coconut oil. Check out the giveaway here!
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