Quick + Easy No Bake Oatmeal Peanut Butter Bites

Quick + Easy No Bake Oatmeal Peanut Butter Bites.

September 4, 2012

I love today.

It’s Monday, but it’s really Tuesday and even though it feels like Monday and smells like Monday and tastes like Monday, it’s really Tuesday. So perfect.

Let’s do this every week.

I also made you a snack. A snackity-snack, if you will.

And guess what? I can’t stop eating it. You’re probably expecting me to be like OMG! I’m so obsessed with this! and guess what? I totally am.

OMG. I am so obsessed with this.

Soooo I wanted to make my oatmeal peanut butter snack squares for my husband… and as I started gathering ingredients I realized that I had no flour. Zero. None. No whole wheat, no all-purpose, not a drop. Not a sprinkle. Which meant I had to get creative, but it couldn’t be *too* creative since he just wanted some “normal” food. Sometimes he just wants spaghetti and meatballs.

He rarely gets it. Because I’m always shoving something new in his face, something much too “foodie” for his liking. I decided it was time to be nice.

Two things were instantly out: first, coconut. Even though he likes the flavor (read: coconut rum), it’s the texture he can’t stand. That was fine… I wasn’t really in the mood for a peanut butter coconut ball. Second – no dates. I actually love dates on their own, but looooooooathe them in granola bar and ball recipes. No people – they do not taste like cookie dough. Or chocolate. Or s’mores topped with peanut butter topped with fudge. No. They taste like freaking dates, because that’s what they are. !!!!! In case you don’t quite get it yet, I looooooooathe them.

It took a few test runs, but I developed the chewy-but-not-too-sticky consistency that I wanted with the majority of the ingredients I was going to use anyway from the other bars and boom. Instant peanut butter balls. I don’t know if we can call them energy balls but that’s what I say because I think I know everything. And they are so much better when rolled in crushed almonds or peanuts. I mean, so much. We actually ended up fighting over them… like when I went to grab some before a workout and noticed they were GONE. Like totally missing. He took them to work and I threw a fit.

Now, I just make a big double batch on Sunday (rolled in peanuts for him, almonds for me) and keep them in separate containers labeled “touch my balls and you’re dead.”

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Quick + Easy No Bake Oatmeal Peanut Butter Bites

Yield: 12-15 bites

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Total Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats

1/4 cup ground flaxseed

1/4 cup sliced almonds, chopped

2 tablespoons chia seeds

1/8 teaspoon cinnamon

a pinch of salt

1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter, melted and slightly cooled

1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon honey

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 tablespoons mini chocolate chips

1/4 cup ground peanuts or ground almonds, to roll the balls in

Directions:

Combine oats, almonds, flaxseed, chia seeds, salt and cinnamon in a large bowl and stir.

Melt peanut butter and allow it to cool slightly (I melted mine in the microwave for about 30 seconds, then stirred), then stir in honey and vanilla extract until it's combined. Once peanut butter has cooled a bit, pour it over the oat mixture and mix well with a spoon then bring together with your hands. Once mixture is sticking together, fold in chocolate chips.

Roll dough into golf-ball sized (or slightly smaller) balls, then roll in ground peanuts or ground almonds. These can be eaten at room temp but we really like them stored in the fridge!