I made you brown balls today.
Yea… I feel bad.
Yea… you totally deserve better.
The summer is alive with color and gorgeous produce and I bring you brown balls? I’ve got some nerve.
In other news:
I’m looking for a place to live by the beach… turns out that it’s exhausting.
I’m currently eating popcorn for at least two meals a day.
I’m house sitting a dog that begs and farts.
Lastly, I spent a majority of this evening using two Sharpie markers, 18 pieces of white paper and a camera. It’s an art project to ask a boy out… because texting just seems too hard and awkward. Riiiight. Dang, I’m weird.
This is what happens when you stare at your barely stocked kitchen cupboards long enough…
Little brown balls of oats, cereal and dehydrated bananas glued together with maple syrup and peanut butter seems like a good idea after a solid 18 minutes of blank cupboard staring.
Uh….
Here’s what you should know about these little gems.
They’re hearty, made with raw oats and peanut butter (among other things)… if you want to use almond butter or sunflower butter you totally should.
I used maple syrup to bind the balls. Honey is also great!
Dehydrated banana slices (that I found at Trader Joe’s) are a little bit softer and tastier than banana chips. You can use either. You could also substitute dried cherries, cranberries or apricots.
Now… use an ice cream scoop with one of those revolving levers to portion these balls out. If you have trouble getting them to stick together, just help them along with clean, wet hands. They’ll harden and keep their shape in the fridge.
That’s it for the pro tips.
Now… brown balls.
No-Bake Peanut Butter Banana Granola Bites
adapted from Martha Stewart and my kitchen cupboards
makes 24 balls
1/3 cup maple syrup or honey
1/4 cup natural peanut butter
2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup cold cereal like Rice Krispies (I used wheat and flax flakes)
1 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1/4 cup dehydrated banana slices, or dried cherries or cranberries or apricots
In a small saucepan over medium heat, stir together the maple syrup or honey, peanut butter and butter. Heat until the butter is melted and the peanut butter is loosened.
Combine cereal, oats and dehydrated banana slices in a medium bowl. Pour the warm peanut butter mixture over the dry ingredients and fold tom combine. Stir until all of the dry ingredients are moistened by the peanut butter mixture.
Using a small scoop, scoop mixture onto a wax paper lined baking sheet. Press balls together with clean and damp fingers if they break apart a bit. Place in the fridge for about 15 minutes to harden and set. Place balls in cupcake liners and store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week.
Colleen
hi joy! i made this a couple days ago & they tasted delicious!! however, it was a little too sweet for my taste. what do you recommend using as a substitute for some of the honey that will work well for binding the mixture but not over sweetning it? i think i could probably use about 1/2 of the honey instead of 1/3cup, but what would i use for the other half to make sure it sticks & comes together? thanks!
Kori
These sound like the perfect pick-me-up when you’re on the go. I’ll have to try them!
Kate
Would it be possible to use coconut oil in place of the butter?
joythebaker
i don’t think coconut oil will work for this recipe. the butter helps the balls to solidify and stick together in the fridge… because it’s a solid when cold. the coconut oil, i think, would remain a liquid… ya know?
Adrienne
Hi Joy,
I just found your site through the recommendation of a friend. You have so many wonderful recipes! I made these this weekend and they were a huge hit (yes “were”, they are all gone now and its only Monday). I made them in a muffin tin lined with paper cupcake liners and I think it helped the balls keep their shape nicely as they chilled. I can’t wait to experiment with other combinations!
danielle
loved these! held shape in fridge but once u start eating them they come apart a bit. Did yours do this? Should I try more pb, or try less cereal, or just push them together a little harder before chilling? Thanks!
joythebaker
Yea. Mine came apart a bit too. Just smash em together really well before popping them in the fridge n
Ingrid
these look so good!
Jenn
Yummo! The kids could totally do this!
Na'ama
Hi Joy!
I just love your site!! I’m pretty sure I’m your biggest fan in Israel!
I’m happy to say I tried this recipe (with dried blueberries instead of bananas, which I didn’t have at home) and they were yummy! I had to stop my boyfriend from eating them all at once and leave some for me… :-)
Catherine
Woah Joy, these look really good! Haha can’t wait to hear about you art project! Good Luck (not that you’ll need it.) :)
Ashley
I think that art projects are a great way to ask a boy out… Once I made up missing posters for a bike courier guy I had a crush on… I drew a stick figure drawing of him and made up an email address for him to get a hold of me… put them up around town… lucky for me he never saw any… he was engaged.
I hope you get a positive response!
Anne's Kitchen
Joy, I can’t help but keep on wondering what you always end up doing with all of your creations?! These balls look yum, but hell, you wouldn’t be able to gobble down more than three, right?! So whose belly do they end up in…? Did you give some to the farting dog?!
jenna
When I was in middle school my best friend and I would make no bake peanut butter balls..heres the recipe! I bet they would be even more delicious covered in chocolate.
1/2 a cup of peanut butter, 1/2 a cup of honey, and 1 cup of non fat dry milk
Sues
I think they look beautiful! And delicious, of course :) And now I want to hear more about this art project!! ;) ;)
Jenna
Your brown balls sound great but your white paper project is making me nervous. Let us know how it turns out!
Anne @ the doctor takes a wife
These look delicious. I can’t wait to make these healthy treats.
Susie
Thanks so much for the recipe. My sweet baby girl starts preschool soon and I will be putting these in her lunchbox!
Katy
Looks yummy!
Good luck with the art project/boy. I’m intrigued! I’m also incredibly awkward when it comes to that kind of thing, so I admire your courage! I hope it works out for you. :)
Noreen
Ooh, keep us posted on the boy situation. I’m in that terrible “should I ask?” state myself!! Nervewracking! Those granola bites look amazing. Thanks for sharing.
Jessica @ How Sweet It Is
These sound fabulous! I love anything that can be done easily without baking.
Kathryn Louise
G’luck with the boy! He’d be crazy not to love you!
Shannon @ bakeandbloom.com
Stuff the granola bites, I want to hear about the boy stuff !!!!! (not that we want to jinx it)
Season
I just made these! They were the perfect (quiet) thing to whip up while my girls were napping. I didn’t have enough honey, so I used what I had and threw in a little agave nectar as well. Knowing that it’s sweeter, I didn’t put much in. And instead of dried fruit, I sprinkled in some chocolate chips and a few reeses pieces. They turned out delicious, and pretty sweet. Thanks Joy.
Janae Monir
Good luck with the guy! Let us know if it works (and why wouldn’t it?).
Jenn B
Just ask the boy to play Scrabble and talk a big game like you are awesome at it… that is how I got my guy.
BTW I have NEVER won a game of Scrabble against him.
Dana S
I did that! Twice! Scrabble is my goto; however, both times I crushed them…
Neither relationship happened, coincidence? I hope so – I haven’t met a guy who can routinely beat me in scrabble and I am not one to just let him win.
I love this recipe because it’s one I can make with my really health conscious and particular roommate!
Rocio
Apartment by the beach!? What a coincidence! I’m trying to get my 1 bedroom apartment by the beach off my hands!! I’m in Long Beach, the nice part not the scary part :)
joythebaker
Ha!! There is a scary part of Long Beach for
sure. I’m looking for a place in Venice. Too bad we can’t help each other out.
Linnea
I can relate to 2 meals of popcorn a day. Delicious, addictive.
I agree with Becky.. brown balls are obviously better than bright green balls. (Take what you can get!)
Look to be delicious!
Becky
No brown ball shame! I’d rather have brown balls than bright balls if they taste amazing! : )
Christine
Mmm, sounds appetizing! But I’m commenting to lament the fact that we are the ones who have to ask boys out now. Am I the only one here? It’s like boys lost all nerve in the last 10 years and leave it up to the ladies to make the first move. It drives me nuts and makes me feel like an aggressive hussy when I am forward. This probably sounds really backward. Boo!
TJ
Well, I’m 47 and married, so I’m not really in touch with today’s boyz (ooo, that sounds racy!) I did ask guys out in my single days, with varying degrees of success. The real keeper, however, was the guy who fell head-over-heels in love with me and HOUNDED me to date, live-with, and marry him (and I did). Well, maybe hounded is an exaggeration, but he always made it clear that anytime I was ready to take the next step, he was ready. My Mom always said, “The man should be more in love than the woman, otherwise he will wander.” I think she may be onto something there. I had some boyfriends who wandered. All I can say in the way of advice is this; Joy, you are beautiful, inside and out, as well as talented, funny, kind, compassionate, and, I think probably really smart, too. Any real man would be lucky to have you for a girlfriend. Let us know how the art project comes out (and take some pix of it!) TJ
krista
art project? to ask a boy out?
you are my hero.
Megan (megabite)
Yuuuum. Brown balls. haha
TJ
Hmmm, I wonder if I could roll them in something like chocolate sprinkles to keep them from sticking together? Help me out here, fans, what could I roll them in that will stick and taste good and not be too dry (like more oats). I guess there’s always melted chocolate, like truffles . . .
TJ
Kimberly
What about cocoa powder?
Missie
They look tasty! I hope the art project goes well with the boy!
Kelly
You make even brown balls sound fantastic. I wonder if trader joe’s flattened bananas would be good in these as well.
Georgia @ The Comfort of Cooking
Joy, you are so cute! These granola bites are awesome, and that’s such a fantastic idea for asking out your crush… Wishing you all the luck in the world, though I don’t think you’ll need it. And hey, if the project doesn’t work out, just bake him something! I bet the boy would go ga-ga for this granola.
Sarah K. @ The Pajama Chef
these sound great. i would probably eat them all right away! yum!
Rocky Mountain Woman
Hey, it’s full on summer here and I try to avoid turning on my oven at all costs. These are perfect for summer!
Rachel
“I used maple syrup to bind the balls” might be the best sentence I’ve read in a long time.
Sarah
This is a FUN post! But wait- aren’t they all?
Deborah
ummmm, didn’t you just move into downtown? I don’t blame you, the beach rocks. Are you a Malibu girl or more Playa del Rey? That boy better appreciate artwork!
Heather (Heather's Dish)
this is awesome because it made me laugh out loud…that rarely happens from a blog :)
megan
good luck with the boy :) and the brown balls look great. Kind of wish I’d known about them last night, I would have made them to take camping with us this weekend
Julie @ Willow Bird Baking
You’re the cutest, you’re fun, and you bake! That boy’s a goner :)
These look yummy!
steph (whisk/spoon)
nice balls! good luck with the apartment search, and we all know the boy is prob secretly dying to go out with you anyway! :)
DessertForTwo
Brown balls are great! No need to apologize! I love that these are healthy and no-bake :)
The Boob Nazi
Good luck with the boy!
Evan @swEEts
I don’t know what has me intrigued more these brown balls or your art project for a boy!? awesome.
Candice
First of all, let me say, that dogs fart because of what they are eating. Obviously, this dog that you are sitting for needs a banana ball or something.
As you might remember, peanut butter is a thing of my distant past, Nutella is now my new best friend, so I , with the products/substitutions I can get here, will make these … Is it OK to use fresh bananas?
Good luck on the house hunt ..
Katy
Yum. Brown balls. Just like our dessert pizza today. As long as it tastes good, we’ll eat it. We’re lame like that. Little dessert vaccum cleaners. And, what about a diarama (man, how do you spell that) to ask a boy out? We love your creativity!
Lina
Since I’m such a loser, I’m gonna use Kashi’s 7 Grain Puff thingys for the cereal, and coconut butter for the peanut butter. Maybe I’ll try using dehydrated apples, too- beat that, sucka!
newlywed
Mmm! My mom used to make something a little like this for me as a kid. It was one of my favorite snacks. I hadn’t thought about that in forever! Definitely saving this one!
Rachel (Two Healthy Plates)
What’s not to love about these? Granola plus peanut butter?!? plus they are no-bake?!? Okay, I’ll make them!
Katie@Cozydelicious
I have a feeling that Martha ever called them brown balls. I’m sure they had a fancy name and pretty description once upon a time. But I love the no-bake idea right now – it’s SO hot here! Good luck house-hunting!
peachkins
I’m gonna do this one of this days…
The Peach Kitchen
peach and things
blowing peachkisses
kangli
cool! the guy must be a cutie for you to make so much effort. good luck! :)
Shauna
Weird, I just made peanut-peanut-butter-chocolate-chip granola bars the other day – why didn’t I think of making them into easy-to-serve balls?! Must try this.
If the boy doesn’t say yes, then I will need to fly out there and kick him in the shins for his stupidity. Seriously – art project dedication! Baking! Too-cute-for-school Target sandals!! What boy in his right mind could say no to that?? You’ve got this one in the bag, girl. :)
Nica
Lol… so there was a guy in highschool that stood me up on a date, and I kicked him in the shins the next day at school. I guess we think alike when it comes to dealing with stupid boys xD
And this look really really good. I’ll have to decide what else I’m going to put in them since we don’t have a Trader Joe’s here with those yummy bananas… :(
Wei-Wei
Don’t tell me you didn’t giggle at all while writing this post. :D
Wei-Wei
katie
They may not be that colourful but to me they still look delicious. Perfect things to snack on – rather easy to eat too many I imagine :)
Jessica
Hey, it’s not summer everywhere in the world, so you’re just giving everyone something to work with! It’s always a good time for granola, anyway.
Good luck with your art project! I’ve never been brave enough to ask out a boy. :\
Silvia
Look so summery and tasty… yesterday I tried your frozen cookie dough balls, a huge hit, thanks for the inspiration!
XXX