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.
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