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.
I’ve made these over and over again, and they’re always a hit. I’ve used slightly different variations based on the ingredients I have or haven’t had on hand, and they’re always great and make everyone swoon. So simple, so perfect. Five stars, without a shadow of a doubt.
I just made these for my niece’s Halloween party today !! In the freezer right now !! Thanks for the recipe.
AMAZING! This recipe made me look like a total CULINARY DIVA! Thank you so much. Delicious, easy and gorgeous. What could be better?
I used “old fashioned” peanut butter from the big box grocery store and didn’t need the flour.
The hardest part was not eating them all before the company arrived.
I’ll be back!
As a gluten free/vegan college student, THESE ARE FANTASTIC. The no-bake makes them perfect for dorms, and they’re a delicious treat when it’s so hard to find good GF/V desserts. I followed the recipe pretty much exactly, except I microwaved the chocolate and I substituted coconut oil with Earth Balance, and it was incredible and worked just the same.
THANK YOU SO MUCH. These were always my favorite treats as a kid, and now I can eat them again on my new diet restrictions!
These are awesome!! I have made them several times with carob chips instead of chocolate. Nom nom
Fabulous!!! I made them with honey. Ended up not needing much coconut flour. Yum yum yum! Aren’t you clever how you figured out a consistency for the insides. I’ve made them for neighborhood kids for Halloween. Thank you!
These turned out amazing! My husband loves Reese’s and I’ve managed to wean him off, thanks to you. Your recipes are so simple and yummy; I’m hooked!
Just made these….and they are wonderful :) I added a bit of freshly grated nutmeg and cinnamon to the filling, and also added a sprinkling of sea salt on the tops before the chocolate cooled. Delicious! Will be making these again for the holidays…what a great use for the rando-bag of coconut flour in my pantry!
Flawless recipe! Just made a triple batch for a tree-trimming party at a vegan friend’s house tomorrow. Fancied some of them up with toasted coconut garnish, others with fancy sea salt, and a few with hot smoked paprika. Be gone, powdered sugar!
I really wanted to love these, but I feel like something is missing in this recipe. Perhaps it was the texture and not enough sweetener. Maybe I should stick to healthy savory dishes. I’m glad others had better success than I did.
Made these tonight w/almond butter. They were really good! What did you use to make the chocolate swirl design? I tried drizzling with a spoon and it didn’t come out as neat.
I was wondering if I could use regular whole wheat flour instead of coconut flour, just because I can’t find any at my store for a good price and I’m not gluten-free anyway. Would that change the taste too much or does anyone think that would work fine?
I didn’t have ‘true’ coconut flour. I had bulk shredded coconut flakes that I threw in the old Magic Bullet for a few seconds and voila. Used that and it worked just fine.
Just made this little delights! I subbed agave syrup for the maple syrup (tablespoon for tablespoon) and spelt flour for the coconut flour. I had to use about 3.5 tbsp of the spelt flour, but they worked out! Yay
Just made these! I think I ate half the PB mixture before they made it to the freezer. I am being completely honest when I say I like these better than the original. Thanks for the recipe and happy holidays!
I’ve made these twice so far and I’m making them a third time this weekend for my family Christmas party! I’m sure you can tell by now how much I love them. YUM!!!
Hi, do you have any idea what could be used instead of the rice crisp cereals? We don’t have anything like that around here, I don’t even know how they’re supposed to look like and taste.
Thanks, Camelia
I made these following the recipe exactly and took them to a work brunch. They were the first dessert gone, everybody loved them. I shouldn’t have told my husband there might be leftovers for him!
I just made these with regular all purpose flour and they turned out great! I used two TBSP. May have needed a smaller pot for the chocolate, however, as there really wasn’t enough for dipping. I was able to use a spoon and drizzle it on little by little.
I just have to say I love this recipe and use it often!
Such an attractive looking dessert to bring along or serve guests, quick to prepare and SO delicious! I make mamy of your recipes very often and this is in the top 10!
These are some of my absolute FAVORITE clean treats. I don’t have coconut flour so I use oat flour. You can also do these as bars – it’s not as messy and you don’t waste any of the chocolate. ;-)