Say hello to {nourishing and healthy} DARK CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER BALLS!
If there was ever a duo to tempt a little sweetness for me, it would be peanut butter and chocolate. Add some sea salt, and I'm ALL IN. Over the past few years, I have narrowed down my Christmas treats to enjoying the ones that I really love, and the peanut butter balls are always a top hit for me. So this year, I decided to make them with real foods -- so I poked around at some recipes. I started with the recipe from Lauren Chamber's blog, and just made a few adjustments. Mostly because I feel like I needed more dark chocolate for dipping. I'm always trying new recipes and changing them slightly! Or a lot. Depends on what I have in my pantry.
Let me just say that it is the HOLIDAYS which is so fun, of course. And with that comes lots of treats. And of course I know that our kiddos are going to eat some junk at their holiday parties and such, and that's okay! But because of that I like to take extra care at home to ensure our goodies are nourishing ... and of course tasty. I like to minimize refined sugar at home and to maximize nature's super foods. Did you know that cacao is the NUMBER 1 antioxidant in the WORLD? Mind blown! Sign me up for all the cacao!
All that to say, I can barely handle these balls of holiday bliss, and with them even comes some great health benefits! All of the antioxidants and the benefits from the cacao, as well as the good protein from the peanut butter (make sure to get the kind that is pure, organic -- so it doesn't have those weird oils or sugars in it). Ok, so let's get to it:
INGREDIENTS:
3 cups organic peanut butter (I like creamy for this)
3/4 cup organic maple syrup (won't have the corn syrup added)
1 cups coconut flour or finely shredded coconut (flour if you want a creamier texture)
3 tbsp collagen powder (we use vital proteins; this ingredient is optional)
1 package of dark chocolate chips
2 tbsp coconut oil
sea salt
DIRECTIONS:
Mix the peanut butter, syrup, coconut flour and collagen powder (optional) in a bowl until thoroughly mixed. If you don't use the collagen powder, add 3 more tbsp of the coconut flour.
Make into little balls and onto a pan with parchment paper on it.
Put in fridge or freezer for 20 minutes (or even overnight!)
Melt the cacao and coconut oil in a pot on low until almost melted and then turn off the pot (use a double boiler if you have one).
Dip the balls into the melted dark chocolate. Tooth picks can be helpful!
Have an extra bag of chocolate chips on hand if you want to fully dunk all of them! You may need to melt more - as it does take quite a bit.
After dunked, place again on the parchment to cool (or in fridge).
Like I said, you can either fully dunk them, and then sprinkle sea salt, as pictured here:
Or just partially dunk them, so you can see the peanut butter. Both are great options!
So easy. And FYI I'll share soon about the benefits of the collagen peptides, but just a few potential supportive benefits are improved skin, improved muscle mass, prevention of bone loss and relief of joint pain. I sneak it into a variety of foods when I can, in small doses.
How do you up your treat game to REAL food at home?
What are your favorite Christmas or winter time treats you want me to make real-food style?
I believe the holidays (and life) can be enjoyed with a whole health mindset - meaning we don't deprive our bodies of life's beauty and deliciousness. But we CAN allow that deliciousness to also nourish our body and keep it operating smoothly -- keeping the toxins, food coloring and excess sugar at bay. It's a total win-win situation.
And now I think it's time for me to go snag a peanut butter ball. Perhaps with a hot cup of tea or cold glass of almond milk. Happy (no) baking, friends!
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