Bam. Just like that, we’re eating healthy peanut butter cookie dough balls. Truffles. Pre-cookies that aren’t actually cookies and won’t be baked but rival the addictiveness of real cookie dough. Whatev.
I’ve made these little guys before, but they were just cookies. When I just put the link in there I realized I called them peanut butter cookie dough bites last time. That’s cute.
However, one major difference this time is that instead of golden raisins, my safe and familiar friends, I went for it with the exotic dates. See them up there? I couldn’t do a close up of those puppies. They’re not pretty. But I got over their wrinkly-smushy looks quickly when I realized that they work like a charm for making vegan, gluten free, grain free, and refined sugar free COOKIES!
Ok, not cookies, as Bjork reminded me.
The afternoon I made these, he asked if we had any snacks. Cause we’re the couple where one of us knows every ingredient in every last kitchen drawer and crevice and what was there last month and what will be there tomorrow, annnnd the other one of us doesn’t know where to look for the bread. There was a time when I used to give him a kitchen tour every time I went grocery shopping. Ok, here’s the crackers, here’s where I put the cheese, we have lots of fruit, and there’s plenty of Fruity Pebbles. I am that girl and now you know.
So, he says, do we have any snacks?
I don’t do kitchen tours anymore. But when he asked me for a snack on the peanut butter cookie dough balls day, I got excited. And then I got sneaky. I told him we had some cookie dough chilling, which prompted a full-on jog over to the refrigerator.
He ate one and declared it not normal cookie dough. Sneaky fail.
I think we can all be adults here: this is not normal cookie dough. What this is is a snack you can make in 10 minutes when all you want is a big ol’ rolled up ball of cookie dough but what you really need is… um, fruit. Read: every day of my life. Dates are considered fruit, right? Or are they candy? Because these are really addicting in that classic cookie dough way, and they’re basically just smushed up dates and peanuts and peanut butter.
Consistency-wise, these will satisfy any cookie dough craving you ever had. They’re both soft and firm and perfectly moist and almost just a little bit sticky, and I really liked the subtle texture from the peanuts. Honey roasted. Do it. Ultimately the peanut butter and chocolate flavors made me feel like I was eating some kind of Reese’s peanut butter cups cookie dough. And I’m speaking in the past tense because they’re loooong gone.
I think I’ll add this to my private stash labeled with my name in the freezer, right along with these dark chocolate coconut bites and other girls-only snacks.
I’m starting to like this new routine.
Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Balls
Total Time: 25 minutes
Yield: 12 1x
Description
You don’t have to be vegan or gluten free to love these all-natural 5 ingredient peanut butter cookie dough balls! The perfect snack.
Ingredients
Scale
- 1/2 cup peanuts (I like honey roasted)
- 1/2 cup dates
- 1/4 cup peanut butter (I used chunky natural)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 tablespoon water
- 4 ounces chocolate
Instructions
- Mix: Pulse JUST the peanuts in a food processor until they are broken down into fine crumbs. Add the dates, peanut butter, and vanilla to the food processor and pulse again to form a soft, sticky dough. Add the tablespoon of water if the mixture gets too sticky. For me, 1 tablespoon was just the right amount to get the mixture moving through the food processor without making it overly wet. Continue to pulse and press the mixture back down with a spoon until there are no more large pieces of dates or peanuts, and the mixture starts to stick together in one large ball.
- Roll: Roll small pieces of “dough” between your hands to form small balls. The dough will leave a bit of an oily residue on your hands but should stick together really easily. Place on a plate or cookie sheet lined with parchment or wax paper. Refrigerate until you’re ready to dip in chocolate.
- Dip: Melt the chocolate very slowly (double boiler, hot oven, or carefully in the microwave) and dip each ball into the chocolate. Remove the balls with two forks and let the excess drip off. Place on wax paper or parchment paper and allow the chocolate to set. You can put them in the refrigerator or freezer to keep them cold and/or help set the chocolate.
Notes
For 12 even balls, divide the whole mixture into four sections. Each of those sections should be rolled into three separate balls.
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 5 mins
- Category: Snack
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: cookie energy bites, cookie dough balls, peanut butter energy bites
