I had never heard of power balls until a friend of mine posted her recipe for energy balls. I was intrigued, and after we'd tried them, I was determined to fine-tune the perfect power ball recipe for the Range, one made of ingredients we keep on hand and love so I could make them (nearly) anytime I wanted one.Everyone on the Range loves these snacks. They take me quite a while to make unless I can get one or more of the kids to help shape the balls (really First Daughter is the only one who's ever interested at all), but they are worth it. They're delicious and a filling snack.
They are almost too delicious because one power ball is enough of a snack, but it's hard to eat just one.
You can adjust this recipe in many ways, but you want to try to keep your liquid ingredients balanced well with dry ingredients. Otherwise, they won't hold together very well.
I always use my kitchen scale to weigh the ingredients. Once you've weighed peanut butter instead of measuring it with a cup, you'll never want to go back. I'll try to give non-weight measurements, but it's been a long time since I made them that way. If you try it and it doesn't work, let me know.
Home on the Range Power Balls
15 oz peanut butter (1 1/2 cups)
1 oz coconut oil (about 1 1/3 tbsp)
9 oz honey (3/4 cup)
12 1/4 oz oatmeal, whatever kind you have on hand (3 1/2 cups)
2 oz wheat germ (1/2 cup)
2 1/2 oz ground flaxseed (1/2 cup)
2 generous scoops of protein powder (we've tried chocolate and vanilla and prefer the chocolate)
3 3/4 oz chopped pecans (1 cup)
3 oz chocolate chips (1/2 cup) - mini chocolate chips work really well for these
1. Mix the peanut butter, coconut oil, and honey in a mixer.
2. Add the oats and mix again.
3. Add the wheat germ, ground flaxseed, protein powder, chopped pecans, and chocolate chips. Mix again.4. Shape into balls. (I like to use my muffin scoop to measure the mixture, then press and roll into into a ball.) Place on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper and chill until solidified.
Store in the fridge or chilled or they'll fall to pieces (though they'll still be delicious).
With my muffin scoop, I usually get around 40 power balls. Your calorie count and grams of protein will vary based on your ingredients and the size of your snack, but you can enter your recipe on Calorie Count to get an estimate.
