Between cookie exchanges, baking with mom, baked by mom, grandma’s recipe, neighbor gifts, and Nabisco (holiday oreos anyone?), the Christmas Cookie might single-handedly be responsible for demolishing diets and accelerating excess poundage. (There’s NO way holiday cocktails or candies could have anything to do with it, right? It’s ALL the cookie’s fault!
While I genuinely DO like most of the cookies (My grandma’s Ting-A-Lings are my favorite) there’s one cookie in particular that gets me every time. This cookie was introduced to me the year I got married. It is my husband’s favorite and he INSISTS I make it every year (though I try to avoid it because they’re quite irresistible, even though they’re loaded with red tier ingredients like powdered sugar and who knows what else.) My children have been passed down this cookie-loving gene as well, so I’m in trouble with the whole family if I don’t make them.
What are they?
The little known Buckeye Ball! Maybe it’s not little-known to you, but I’d never heard of it until being introduced to my in-laws, and no one I know has heard of them either.
The problem is, I really like them too, and if I make them, and they’re there, more often than not I simply give in and have one. And, once the floodgates are opened, I don’t just have one, I have 4. And this is a problem for someone striving to eat clean and stay on track with 90/10 Nutrition.
So, I decided to give these cookies a makeover: a 90/10, clean eating, no processed ingredients, makeover. The result, while not exactly the same as the original version, is actually pretty darn good! Now, my husband tried these Healthy Buckeye Balls and they passed! Now I can load up my freezer with these and actually eat Christmas Cookies without feeling bad about it!
These no-bake cookies are free of gluten (use gluten free oats), free of refined sugars, free of refined flours, free of wheat, free of eggs, free of dairy, and loaded with antioxidants, protein, whole grain, and healthy fats. (Actually they’d make a GREAT pre workout snack!)
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup natural peanut butter
- 1/3 cup honey divided to 1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp
- 2 cup old fashioned oats (use gluten free if desired)
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup coconut oil
- 1/4 cup dark chocolate cocoa powder unsweetened
Instructions
- In a blender or food processor, process the oats until they are a fine powder.
- Combine processed oats, peanut butter, 1/2 c. honey, and salt in a small bowl. Stir well until a dough forms. Make 40 1 inch balls from the dough, and place each about 1 inch apart on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Place in freezer for 1 hour.
- Melt coconut oil over med. heat until melted. Remove from heat and stir in cocoa powder and 2 T. honey. Stir well until cocoa is dissolved.
- Remove cookies from freezer. Using a toothpick, dip almost all the way into the chocolate. Shake to remove excess. Place back on the parchment-lined baking sheet and repeat with all remaining balls. Allow to chill 10-15 minutes or until chocolate is hardened. Place cookies in airtight container and store in freezer. Makes 40 cookies.
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These sound great! Can’t wait to give them a try!
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