Do you have any recipes that take you straight back to childhood? These peanut butter balls are one of those for us. But they're not just an exercise in nostalgia: these quick, easy little snacks are nearly irresistible, so sweet with honey and crispy with coconut and malted milk.
This is another recipe adapted from the classic More-With-Less Cookbook. The snack section in this book is one of my favorite parts. It offers some great alternatives to packaged snacks and too-sweet treats that barrage children from every side on television and at the supermarket.
These are a wonderful recipe to make with children. They are so easy and quick to mix up that they fit inside the attention span of even a three-year-old. You can measure, mix, roll, and eat in a half-hour time span and teach children a first lesson in cooking. The "dough" doesn't have any eggs, too, and these are eaten raw, so you can even turn a blind eye if kids sneak bites of the dough before they're done. (Another good raw cookie recipe is this one for Sunflower Date Cookies.)
These are definitely still an indulgence and an occasional treat. But they're simple, full of milk protein, and totally delicious. I adapted these a bit from the initial recipe, making them slightly less sweet and leaving out the original's graham cracker crumbs. I prefer unsweetened coconut as a mix-in. I also used malted milk powder, which gives these a fun malty flavor. But if you're avoiding gluten skip that in favor of regular milk powder. In fact, these are wonderful little gluten-free treats — and a cousin to Dana's version of those easy no-flour peanut butter cookies.
Bet you can't eat just one!
Milk and Honey Peanut Butter Balls
2 to 3 dozen balls, depending on size1/2 cup natural unsweetened creamy peanut butter
1/3 cup honey or agave syrup
1/3 cup unsweetened coconut
1 cup malted milk powder (substitute regular milk powder for gluten-free version)
Mix all ingredients until they form a crumbly, sticky mass. Roll into balls. Try not to eat all at once.
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Any suggested substitutions for the malted milk?
These look as though they could be addictive.
Ok, this takes me right back to childhood and an episode of the carebears where they teach you how to make this recipe by singing the instructions to the tune of "my darling Clementine". Except i think their PB-balls were made with sugar instead of honey, and also rolled in coconut.
I would totally make this right now, but i've already eaten a lot of peanut butter today.
is peanut butter safe to eat again?
zuzupetals, I remember making something like this as a child except we used powdered milk instead of malted milk and I want to say instead of honey, we used molasses or karo syrup or something. If you're looking for a non-dairy ingredient, though, maybe try rice flour or some sort of soymilk powder?
ooo these look yummy! we used to get these in elementary school but they were called peanut butter blobs and they had chocolate chips in them. SO good!
I just made them! They're fantastic.
Added a little extra malted milk, maybe my peanut butter was moister than most. Also, I flattened the balls and dusted with coconut to make them look like a more adult treat.
i've seen malt powder, like ovaltine, but who makes malted milk powder? like carnation instant breakfast?
Assuming you don't eat them all at once, how do you store these so that they don't all stick together?
Carnation just makes plain malted milk powder. It's next to the Ovaltine.
Juuuust finished making these. If you're nosey you can see them here.
I can't find malted milk powder anywhere! I NEEEED these!
Update: I broke down and bought it online - I got it from iherb.com with a $5 off coupon, so it ended up only being $0.75 shipping!
catlike - thanks for the recommendations! It's not the milk problem in my case; it's a malt problem (gluten, *sigh*). These would be awesome to tuck into a lunchbox. Can't wait! =)
we made this too when I was a kid, though ours had no cocoanut and powdered milk instead of malted milk. My mother called it Peanut Butter Playdough, because we could make shapes with it before we ate it. I loved it.
This sounds wonderful!
I'm looking for a good replacement for the malted milk powdered too... hm... maybe almond meal? ... I'm going to experiment.
Plain powdered milk works just fine - the original recipe uses it. A few ideas (un-tested!) for a non-dairy subsitute, in addition to the good ones above: tapioca powder, nut flours, soy protein powder, ground coconut, non-dairy powdered coffee creamer.
I just made them with my kids, and used cocoa powder instead of powdered or malted milk. I used a little more coconut and a little less cocoa powder than the milk recommended here. They're yummy and very rich!
I knew this as "Nummy Fudge" as a kid - with a bit of a variation on ingredients:
1/2c honey
1/2c molasses or treacle
1/2c peanut butter
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
1c dry powdered milk
Combine all except powdered milk well - then mix in powdered milk, knead, roll into bite size bits. Refrigerate to set more firmly.
We were SERIOUSLY addicted to this stuff! :-)
We made these too as kids and added rice krispie cereal for a bit of crunch. I will be making these for my children. Thanks for the memory and reminder!
I remember these. My mom used to make them when I was little. They were soooo good. My mom used to make half of the batch rolled in sunflower seeds. They would be individually wrapped in the freezer. It is funny because we were just talking about these last month at dinner. Time to make a batch!
"is peanut butter safe to eat again?"
Er... what was the problem? I'm asking seriously, I'm the only european I know who eats peanut butter every day* so I don't have much info.
* Should be read "I'm the only PB whore I know of" :) Articles like the recent one that links here change my life ^^
Around 1978, when I was in fourth grade, there was a (brief) initiative in the US to move to the metric system, and we made this recipe at school using metric measures. Thanks for the memory!
My grandmother made these with powdered milk and instead of coconut she added wheat germ for crunch.... Yummy and healthy.
I would think you could use a vanilla protein powder in place of the malted milk for added punch, and making it vegan & gluten free.
since this is listed in gluten free recipes why does it call for malted milk powder??last i heard that contains gluten ?? and i know i can experiment with alternatives but it defeats the whole < good > idea of having a gluten free section
what would be a good coconut substitute? Oats maybe?