Friday, September 3, 2010

Protein Bombs

I'm obsessed with Whole Foods, as you probably already know. There isn't one around here, so I've taken to reading their blog to get my fix. Quite recently, it linked me to a recipe for something they call Chocolate Earth Balls. I call them Protein Bombs because, well...they contain a lot of protein. Whatever you end up calling them, they're quite possibly the best snack I've consumed in a very, very long time. On top of that, they are extremely easy to make and almost completely adaptable to individual tastes. Check out the original recipe, then take a look at my version.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup natural peanut butter
2-1/2 tbsp honey
1 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 cup dried cranberries
6 tbsp old-fashioned oats
1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 tbsp sesame seeds
1 tbsp finely ground almonds
1 tbsp finely ground hazelnuts


Directions:
Stir peanut butter if necessary, then measure and mix it with the honey and cocoa powder. Add the oats, cranberries and chocolate chips. Mix completely, then cover and chill the bowl for about an hour (give or take). In the meantime, mix the sesame seeds, almonds and hazelnuts in a cereal-size bowl. Once the original bowl is chilled, roll the dough into golf-size balls (you'll get about 9). Then roll each ball in the seed/nut mix until completely coated. Place coated balls on a dinner plate, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for another 30 minutes.

See? Told ya it was easy. And totally customizable, right? I opted for peanut butter, but will definitely try almond butter at some point. In fact, I'm pretty sure any nut butter would suffice it. As for the chocolate chips, they're definitely not the healthiest addition. I just couldn't resist, and perhaps next time I'll replace them with coarsely chopped nuts of some sort. Or some additional oatmeal. The options are endless. And endlessly delicious, I'm sure. Now, go make some for yourself!

Question: Will you tweak the recipe above to accommodate your own personal tastes? If so, how?

3 comments:

Mrs. Anderson said...

Sounds good. A better alternative to my favorites...no bake cookies. I will probably not add the sesame seeds. But thanks for the recipe!

Unknown said...

Those sounds delicious!!! Are they too sweet though? Do they really need the honey? Any combo of peanut butter and chocolate is something I want to try. :)

Rebecca said...

I'm so making these and throwing in all sorts of Putzish stuff!

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