I have fond memories of making peanut butter balls with my mom and sister every holiday season. The women in my family are all big peanut butter and chocolate fans, so it seems like a natural holiday dessert to splurge on. In fact, I know when they see this post they’ll be running to the kitchen to make this version! You can’t beat how easy peanut butter balls are to throw together during those hectic last-minute preparations.
This year, I came up with a lighter version of my childhood favourite. Rather than using 2 cups of powdered sugar and plenty of butter like the old recipe, I turned to a few lighter ingredients to do the same job.
This version contains much less sweetener than classic recipes, but I promise you won’t even notice the difference, especially once the chocolate coating is in place!
The secret to achieving a similar dough (without all the powdered sugar) is a little trick I picked up from making homemade nut butter in my food processor. I noticed when I added too much maple syrup into the machine, it would cause the nut butter to seize up (i.e., get really thick). After that point, no matter how much I processed the nut butter, it never returned back to it’s creamy, drippy state. A similar thing happens when you add water to melted chocolate.
For this recipe, I used this knowledge to my advantage by stirring the peanut butter and maple syrup vigorously, until the mixture “seized” and thickened up. Well, it worked like a charm! All I had to do after that was add a couple tablespoons of coconut flour for additional thickening powers. Coconut flour is quite dense and drying, so just a little bit did the trick. No powdered sugar necessary. Yes!
Tip: If you are new to coconut flour and don’t want to buy a whole bag, try buying a small amount from a bulk food bin. I’m pretty sure Bulk Barn carries coconut flour.
At first, when you stir in the maple syrup, it will look quite runny and you’ll think there’s no way it’s going to thicken up, but it does. Just keep on stirring! It took me probably 30 seconds of stirring and letting it sit a couple minutes helps it firm up too (the coconut flour absorbs a lot of moisture). The timing will depend on how thick (or thin) your brand of peanut butter is (I only recommend using 100% all-natural peanut butter with nothing else added). It’s quite possible you might need a touch more (or less) coconut flour than what I used. I’m not sure if other sweeteners will work the same way that maple syrup does, so I can’t vouch for the results if you swap out the maple syrup.
Once it thickened up, I stirred in some sea salt to enhance the flavours and rice crisp cereal for a crunchy texture. Oh my….simply irresistible!!
Watch them disappear almost as quickly as they were made.
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Peanut Better Balls
Yield
16-20 balls
Prep time
Cook time
0 minutes
Chill time
25
Total time
These peanut butter balls forgo the powdered sugar and butter, and instead use a few lighter ingredients using only a fraction of the sweetener compared to traditional recipes. You'll wonder how you ever lived without this recipe around the holidays! It's quick to throw together and makes about 16-20 balls that will fill a platter for a holiday party. For mess-free finger food, place the balls in mini cupcake liners.
Ingredients
- 1 cup 100% natural peanut butter (smooth or crunchy)
- 3.5-4 tablespoons pure maple syrup, to taste (see note)
- 1-3 tablespoons coconut flour, only if needed
- fine grain sea salt, to taste (I used 1/4 teaspoon)
- 6 tablespoons gluten-free rice crisp cereal
- 3/4 cup dark chocolate chips (I use Enjoy Life)
- 1/2 tablespoon coconut oil
Directions
- Stir the jar of peanut butter well before using. In a large bowl, mix together the peanut butter and maple syrup vigorously, for 30-60 seconds, until it thickens up. It will go from runny to thick during this time.
- Stir in the coconut flour until combined (if your PB is dry, you might be able to skip this step or only use half). We're looking for a texture that isn't too sticky, but not too dry either. Let it sit for a couple minutes to firm up as the coconut flour will continue to absorb moisture with time. Add a touch more coconut flour if necessary. Or if it's too dry, add a touch more syrup.
- Add salt to taste and stir in the rice crisp cereal.
- Shape into small balls (I made about 17).
- In a small pot, add the chocolate chips and coconut oil and heat over low heat, stirring frequently. Once half the chips have melted, remove from heat and stir until completely smooth.
- With a fork, dip the balls into the melted chocolate. Tap off excess chocolate on the side of the pot and place the ball on a plate or cutting board lined with parchment. Repeat for the rest. Save any leftover melted chocolate for later.
- Place balls in the freezer for around 6-8 minutes until mostly firm.
- Dip a fork into the leftover melted chocolate and drizzle it on top of the balls to create a "sophisticated" design like the baking diva you are.
- Freeze the balls for another 10-15 minutes, until the chocolate is completely set. If you can wait that long, you win life.
Tip:
1) I'm not sure if other liquid sweeteners will work in this recipe (and firm up the peanut butter the same way as maple syrup does), therefore I can't recommend any. A reader did tell me that agave nectar worked for her though! 2) I recommend only using 100% natural peanut butter for this recipe. You just want to see roasted peanuts on the label (and maybe salt, if it’s salted). The no-stir kinds made with oil and sugar might not work the same way. The PB I used was very drippy. If your PB seems dry, you probably won't need to use all of the coconut flour.
These look lovely! Love the addition of coconut flour! I am sure it adds great texture!
I made these using a peanut free butter I bought and subbed out the coconut flour for Brown rice flour. Delicious and still gluten free. We love them!
I am so making these for my husband – he is a peanut butter fiend. I might even try some with my favourite cashew butter – mmmm, the possibilites are endless
This is my first comment on your blog. I love PB & chocolate anything so I’m super excited to make this ASAP! I’ve been following your blog for years & all the recipes I’ve tried have been great! Thanks for making being vegan a little easier to share amazing recipes with family & friends:)
Thanks for your comment Laurie! I hope you enjoy them :)
Oh my, these look heavenly! I know these as “Buckeyes” and they were a childhood favorite. I haven’t made them in years, because of all the butter and sugar! I will definitely be making these, they seem almost too good to be true.
(Love the light bokeh, beautiful!)
Just made these! They were so good! One is just enough to satisfy a craving for something decadent. Thank you!
Would it change if I didn’t use rice cereal? I have all the ingredients but those. They look so good!
Did you try it without the rice cereal? I was wondering the same thing
Hi! I didn’t add the cereal. They came out really great, but next time I’m going to add it because I think the crunch would make them even better!
I used some coarse chopped almonds and oats instead of the rice cereal! Added texture and turned out great !
I didn’t want to buy a whole box of rice crispies just for this so I didn’t use them either. I did however add dried cranberries for contrast. They’re great! I was a bit worried about the measurments because around this corner of the world we use the metric system, but this recipe was so easy I basically didn’t even need to measure!
I am not a fan of coconut at all. Can another flour and oil be used?
Hi Susan, I’m not sure about substitutes as I’ve only tested them using the ingredients in the recipe. Sorry I can’t be of more help!
You can try not using any flour OR oil. If you homemake the peanut butter it should be firm anyway ;)
Susan j- I don’t care for coconut either,however, I use coconut flour in many recipes and I don’t taste coconut at all. Maybe give it a try in a small batch because these look absolutely scrumptious! Definitely making these for the holidays!
Susan, have you ever tried subbing in peanut flour? You can purchase it on amazon and iherb.com
Sherry
They do look yummy and want to try them. That is a good suggestion the half batch. thanks
Amelia
No I have not but what a great idea.. I will try the peanut flour. I didn’t even know they had peanut flour but that would be great in this recipe. thanks!
I used garbanzo flour and they actually turned out amazing… yum yum!
These look amazing! Peanut butter balls are my favorite Christmas candy since childhood and I’ve been wanting to find a way to lighten them up without sacrificing the flavor. This looks like you nailed it. I can’t wait to try them!!
I have never used coconut flour before; I think I am going to half to try it. What a wonderful alternative to a classic treat.
Angela these look & sound incredible! I’m a big fan of cookie dough, balls, truffles, bites, and if it has PB (and coconut flour and those great little crispy rice cereal bits in it), all the better! I need a dozen :) pinned
OH MY – These look amazing! I can’t think of any better combination than chocolate and peanut butter – I think it would be hard not to “sample” all the dough – I am not sure if I would even be even able to make it to the “ball” stage ;) Can’t wait to make these! :D
yes, it’s very hard not to just grab the bowl and enjoy with a spoon! hah.
Can these be made in advance and stored in the
fridge until serving? They sound amazing & I’d like
to make them a few days in advance. :-) Thanks!!
I can’t see why not!
My husband is a huge fan of the peanut butter balls at Christmas time. I cannot wait to make these for him! Thanks for a great recipe!
Oh yeah, babe! These are getting made ASAP!
these look delicious, angela!
I do love me some peanut butter and chocolate. I can’t wait to try this one!
Do you think they would ship ok?
Hi Lori, I don’t think they would hold up in transit…well, I think the chocolate coating would potentially melt depending on the conditions?
I will definitely be making these for the holidays! Can you change the peanut butter to almond butter? We have a peanut allergy in the house. By the way I just wanted to to say thank you for all the amazing recipes you continually post. You are hands down the BEST food blog ever!!!!
Hey Diane, Thanks for your kind words!
I’m not sure about swapping the peanut butter in this recipe. I’ve only tried it this way so I really don’t know if the almond butter and maple syrup would thicken the same way. Let us know how it goes if you try it! The recipe can be halved so maybe you could try a smaller batch.
These look phenomenal!! LOVE!
These look delicious! I cannot wait to try them!
These look beautiful! I’ve made peanut butter chocolate balls with a similar recipe but NEVER have mine looked as pretty!
My grandma always used to make these for Christmas but these look like a far healthier option! I can’t wait to try them!
This must be a sign! I have had coconut flour sitting in my pantry and truer a recipe yesterday only to have it be awful. Idk why I try any other recipes besides yours! Now I have a new dessert to take to the inlaws for Christmas!! Thank you!