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.
Would I be able to make my own coconut flour by finely grinding shredded coconut in a coffee grinder/food processor?
I believe that would make coconut butter
Angela, Just wanted you let you know that I made these this morning (with a few substitutions) and wanted to report back what worked for me, in case anyone else was looking for a swap.
– I used 3 medjool dates in place of the maple syrup (stuck the dates in the food processor with peanut butter and pulsed away.) It seized up like syrup does.
– In place of the coconut flour (my husband is not a fan), I used finely ground salted peanuts (almost flour consistency). I also added two more tablespoons of crispy rice cereal.
The ‘dough’ came out perfect, just like a normal buckeye would. Not greasy, sticky, or too dry. Perfect to roll between the palms of your hands.
I also tempered my chocolate (same brand of chocolate chips) instead of adding in coconut oil. I used the method via David Lebovitz’s website. The chocolate set up beautifully around the little balls in about 30 minutes at room temp, so no need to freeze/refrigerate. :) Thanks for your awesome recipes, inspiration, and beautiful photography. (And sorry to hear about your tree mishap on Instagram. :( )
Ehrmagherd, buckeyes! (That’s what I grew up calling them, at least.) I loooove these, but I’ve been avoiding them due to the usually prodigious amounts of butter and sugar — so to say the least, I’m pretty effing thrilled that you’ve created a health-ified version of one of my all-time faves. :)
These look amazing, and I can’t wait to try them! I love the Christmas lights in the background of the photos!
so delicious!! that sounds nothing compared to your sweet peanut balls!
Oh my. New family tradition alert!
I just made these and had to comment how delicious they are! I love buckeyes and a local cafe makes a vegan version that is delicious but I love knowing these are a healthier version.
And for the people that don’t like coconut, neither does my fiance and he didn’t even notice there was anything coconut related in these! Yummm
OMG Angela, I made these tonight… maybe I should have waited closer to Christmas… not sure how I will make them last that long. I stored them in my garage freezer hope that helps :). thanks for the awesome recipe and so easy to make, unbelievable.
Hey there you Angela, well idea I wonder if there is some kind of natural vegan food dye, how festive that would be incorporated into some of your desert recipes maybe some red and green colors to give it pop! have no clue what im babbling but if it reaches you then I hope you no all feedback I give should be received with good intent. Happy Holidays. I turn 34 tomorrow, im still young!!!
Oh my…these were seriously SO yummy :)
Perfect timing! I too grew up eating buckeyes and have missed them so much. I was just contemplating making buckeyes with vegan butter and the gf Rice Krispies but I will make these instead! Thank you, thank you, thank you for the recipe!
Wow! These look so delicious, healthy, and simple… I may have to add one more thing to my Christmas baking list!
I made these today with the intent of taking them to my office holiday party tomorrow. I do hope they make it – we’ll see. They are so very yummy!
Angela, have you tried Crio Brü? It’s roasted cocoa beans, ground and brewed like coffee. I do mine in my French press with a peppermint tea bag, some almond milk, and a tiny bit of coconut oil. Crazy delicious. I am in no way affiliated with them, but I really like the beverage and thought you would enjoy it as well. Consider this my Christmas present to lovely you.
I am going to make it for my mom…Thanks …
Oh my gosh! my mother in law brought peanut butter balls to our house at thanksgiving and it was NOT GOOD FOR MY WAISTLINE. I will not put in writing how many I ate… I cannot wait to make these! Today or tomorrow! Will report back!!
You just read my mind… I’ve been researching for the perfect vegan pb ball recipe all week and right before I am heading out to get my ingredients I decide to read a few blogs… You never let me down ;)
I made these yesterday and they were really tasty. The peanut butter part was a bit dry (disappointing!) and I think it was because my peanut butter was a bit on the dry side. I’ll definitely make these again and make sure the peanut butter part is not so dry. Thanks for these, Angela!
Hey Lorissa, Yes the consistency of the PB can drastically effect the outcome. Mine was quite drippy. Did you use all-natural PB? If your PB seems very thick and dry you might even be able to get away with skipping the coconut flour all together. Hope you have better results next time! Enjoy :)
I actually used two different kinds of peanut butter. Both were organic and the only ingredients were peanuts. One was drippy and the other was very dry. I knew as I was mixing that it was too dry and I should have omitted the flour, but never having made the recipe before, I wanted to follow it exactly. Anyway, they’re delicious and now I know for next time. Thanks again!
made these last night. Easy to make and turned out fabulous!!! Thanks!
Just so everyone knows, this WILL work the same with no-stir peanut butter. Normally I prefer the just-peanuts stuff, but I picked up a jar by accident at the store and thought, what the heck. After a good mix, it looked just the same as in your pictures above. Thanks for posting this yummy, simple treat! I have a batch chilling right now that my gluten-free friends will love this holiday season. :)
So glad it worked out for you! Thanks for letting us know. :)
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