Peanut Butter Balls....Grandma's version revised

One of the favourite family Christmas treats when I'm visiting my inlaws is always the Chocolate Peanut Butter Ball. Smooth creamy peanut butter centre, crunchy chocolate on the outside, it's like my own little ball of Reeses' perfection....BUT sadly the sugar is not something that I choose to partake in anymore (and the regular peanut butter balls usually have anywhere from 10-20g per piece!). So what is a girl to do? Well...make her own of course.

This one goes out to Grandma Bennett :)

High Protein Chocolate Peanut Butter Balls
base recipe makes approximately 24
approx 86 cal, 6g fat, 7g protein, 2g carbohydrates

Ingredients:
- 1 cup of natural peanut butter (I like the Kraft variety-it's in a brown jar)
- 3.5 scoops of whey protein - peanut butter or chocolate flavour (I used AllMax Nutrition Chocolate Peanut Butter Flavour)
- 1/2 cup of chopped dry roasted peanuts
- 1/4 unsweetened almond milk/milk

1) Put dry roasted peanuts in the blender until it is ground into a fine flour.

2) Add in whey protein and blend to mix well.

3) Add dry ingredients and peanut butter into a large bowl and mix well.

4) Add the unsweetened almond milk as needed if the mixture is too dry. At the end, the mixture should be somewhat crumbly and dry.

5) Roll into 1" balls and put onto a cookie sheet in the fridge until the mixture hardens.

This recipe makes a very dry peanut butter ball (my personal preference) but you may want one that is soft through the centre. If that sounds like you, add in 2-4 tbsp of canned pumpkin puree into the mixture. The balls won't harden completely and the pumpkin will keep them soft and chewy.

Now the coating is where you can mix things up.....for myself, I want to limit the sugar content of my treats, so I rolled mine in unsweetened cocoa. Other options are to roll them in chopped peanuts, or a light thin coating of very dark chocolate that has been melted (using 4, 70-80% Lindt squares you should be able to coat most of the peanut butter balls without adding much in the way of sugar/calories - the darker the chocolate, the less sugar used to make it so it is a great option to add to desserts)

This is a great option if you have to whip up a quick dessert for a pot luck, or you're looking for an easy snack recipe to keep on hand for holiday drop-in guests. Store them in the fridge and when needed, stack them on a plate, sprinkle half a teaspoon of confectioner's sugar over the top of the whole bunch and you'll look like a pro!!! Low in sugar, and filled with protein and healthy fats, it will keep you full longer and not send you for a blood sugar crash a couple of hours later.  They are quick and easy to make - and if you have kids, its a great recipe to get them to make with you :)