“I hate peanut butter”, said no one ever! At least in the USA, for sure. And that, my friends, is the main reason why these Peanut Butter Balls are calling your name. The other reasons being that they are delicious and healthy-ish. The “ish” is mostly due to the fact that peanut butter has in some cases a high sugar content. If you are watching your sugar intake, you can always use reduced-sugar or sugar-free ingredients for this recipe.
Additionally, for those of you exceptional individuals that do not like peanut butter, you can substitute it for hazelnut-chocolate butter instead. Or almond butter, if you will. Simply use your nut butter of choice. This Peanut Butter Balls recipe is highly versatile and adaptable to different tastes or preferences. I made half peanut butter and half hazel chocolate butter, the darker ones in the photo below.
I came up with this Peanut Butter Balls recipe thinking, above all, of our health, yours and ours. It is an excellent dessert option any time, really. Scrumptious, easy to make, highly portable and altogether convenient!
And if you are wondering what the Mexican twist for the recipe is, Amaranth is it. What is Amaranth? It is the teeny grain seed of the Amaranthus shrub. You can read more about it here. Despite being such a small grain, Amaranth seeds boast amazing health benefits, discovered early on by the Aztec and other pre-columbian civilizations. Among many others, some of those benefits are that they provide high quality plant protein, lots of fiber and calcium.
The most popular way to enjoy amaranth in Mexico comes in the form of a sweet called “Alegria” (means joy or bliss in English). Alegrias are flat, round cakes made with popped/puffed (roasted) amaranth seeds and honey. They are widely (and wildly) popular in Mexico. They can be found at any traditional sweet vendor booth south of the border. And sometimes vendors will traverse the streets carrying a traditional assortment of Mexican sweets, yelling out really loud to promote their merchandise: “Alegrias! Merengues! Palanquetas!”. Their product tray would certainly not be complete without Alegrias.
Additionally, and this is good news, you can use amaranth like you would oats, if you boil the (unpopped) seeds for 20 minutes (2.5 cups of water for every 1 cup of amaranth seeds). The other main presentation of amaranth besides raw is popped (puffed, roasted). You can order online both raw and puffed/ popped amaranth. Add the puffed variety to soups, salads, smoothies, you name it, for its health benefits and a deeply satisfying crunch!
Peanut Butter Balls
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup quick oats
- 1/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut flakes
- 1/4 cup peanut butter or your preferred nut butter or even cookie butter
- 2 tbsp chocolate chips
- 1 – 2 tbsp honey to taste
- 1 tsp chia seeds
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup popped amaranth seeds
Instructions
- In a medium bowl mix the first seven ingredients.
- Wet your hands in water (this will help prevent the mix from sticking to your fingers) or wear food-grade gloves and shape the balls to 3/4" – 1" pieces.
- Place the popped amaranth in a large, flat dish. Roll each ball on the popped amaranth and cover completely.
- Refrigerate for 1 hour before serving to firm up the Peanut Butter Balls.
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