Coconut Peanut Butter Oatmeal Balls (aka Snow Balls)
One of the greatest pleasures in my life is getting to cook with my kids (thank goodness it’s also what I do for a living). Having said that, there are certain recipes that are more appropriate for certain age groups than others. Since I’ve got two young children, cooking activities that don’t require the stove are a huge bonus, especially when I’m trying to get both kids involved in the same task at the same time. There was definitely a mess to clean up when we were finished making these Coconut Peanut Butter Balls, but it was totally worth every minute.
While Chloe was busy licking spoonfuls of peanut butter, pressing her tiny fingers into the coconut on the plate and saying “snow,” Kenya was focused on rolling the peanut butter oatmeal mixture into balls. Halfway through he decided to improvise and said, “look Mommy, now they’re logs!” I looked down at his creation, then up at him and said “Kenya, you’re a genius!” Maybe that was a little too much praise for a kid just having some fun with food, but to a mom always trying to come up with new and exciting recipes for kids to eat, it was an inspired idea.
But the best idea is cooking with your kids. No matter what you make, the experience is always delicious.
Coconut Peanut Butter Balls (Makes 40-50 Balls depending on the size)
1 1/4 Cup Old Fashioned Oats, ground in a food processor
1/2 Cup Peanut Butter (you can also use almond, cashew or sunflower butter)
1/2 Cup Honey
1/2 Cup Coconut Flakes, unsweetened
1. Place the oats in a food processor or blender and pulse until finely ground.
2. Stir the peanut butter and honey in a bowl until thoroughly combined.
3. Add the ground oats and continue to stir until thoroughly combined.
4. Using 1 tsp of the mixture at a time (I like to use a mini ice cream scooper or a spoon), roll into balls or logs (Kenya’s idea).
5. Place the coconut in a separate bowl or plate and roll the balls or logs in the coconut to completely cover.
6. Serve.
**Freezing: place balls on a sheet tray and freeze for 30 min. Remove, place in a ziploc bag, label and place back in freezer. Can be frozen up to 3 months.
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Just found your site – YAAAY!!! Fantastic simple ideas – just what I need. Thanks so much. I have a weekly menu plan using lots of your recipes! Cant wait to try them, and to give them to my toddler. Cant wait for the Kale chips!
WOW – this is amazing, just watched your Granola Balls and Breakfast Quesidilla videos, so good. Very excited to incorporate some of your fabulous ideas into our everyday. With a 6 year old and 2 year old, I’m sure to find some yummy and healthy recipes that I know they’ll love!
As a coconut lover, I’m excited to test this recipe. I may not want to share
Can you eat the oatmeal raw without cooking it? I didn’t know …
Yes you can
I make almost the same thing but add a few mini chocolate chips.
Sounds great! Sweetened coconut flakes or unsweetened?
I think this would great with sesame seeds also. My kids are not to keen on coconut.:-)
I know this is a silly question but is your food processor really loud? Whenever I use it with the kids in the kitchen I have to warn them first to cover their ears. I hate using it.
Yes, I have to tell them that I will be turning it on and it is loud so they are prepared
I love that this recipe is raw! Always trying to incorporate more raw foods in my family`s diet.
I made these, but I didn’t have coconut, so I put some KIX in a food processor, to coat the balls with, so they wouldn’t be so sticky. Question – Do these eventually set up, or so they stay squishy? Mine are pretty squishy lol!
We had the same problem too – so we added more oats to the recipe and changed it to 1 1/4 oats
OK thanks! Will try these tonite!
At what age can babies have honey? I have a 13 month old and thought it was too early. I might make some for Mommy and Daddy, though..they sound SO good.
It is safe to give babies honey after 1 year
These look delicious. I’d like to try them – and will try to roll them in something else besides coconut (just personal preference). I’m going to try possibly pecan Meal or something of the like.
Thanks for the ideas! And the log idea IS genius.
Yum! Any ideas for a topper other than coconut?
I made these tonight and they were delicious! I did not have coconut flakes so I put about 3/4 cup of trader joes honey o’s in the processor and rolled the balls in the cereal dust. My daughter kept running back for more, that’s always a great sign. ; )
i’m not a big coconut fan, i was going to try them with cocoa powder on the outside instead. making them this afternoon but i can taste them already! mmm…
I just made these and didn’t have any coconut so just put some left over graham crackers in food processor and rolled the pb balls in it…delish!
ok just made them with cocoa powder on the outside and they are FANTASTIC! what a fabulous treat! I may freeze them and allow myself a couple each night =)
I haven’t made these yet, but have made something similar in the past and coated it with wheat germ. Crushed up cereal is also a great idea. Yum! Catherine, you are unbelievably inspriational, as always!
So delicious! I made these today with my 4 1/2 year old and 2 year old, they had so much fun rolling the balls and putting them into the coconut. What a great way to pack in the protein.
These are fantastic! I did with and without the topping. I just stuck them in the fridge to keep them solid. My little girl loves PB and honey sandwiches so this was a sure thing. Seriously these go fast!
I just made these and they were super yummy! I substituted 1/2 of the oats for quinoa flakes and I added a tablespoon of cocoa powder.
Did you use namebrand peanut butter (like Jif) or all natural? I’d rather use the natural but ours is not as solid (almost runny) as the Jif we have and I worry that they may not set up right
I used organic peanut butter
– Jif has a different consistency than organic
Yum. Thanks so much. I added a little less honey and replaced with a little jelly.
These are fantastic!!! Made them this morning and I can’t keep my kids (or myself) out of them!
Brilliant. We love them!
These were delicious! Awesome recipe!
I just found weelicious, and I am hooked! I tried these today, Amazing! I rolled mine in cocoa powder instead and they were great!
I have made these ever since I was little, but using milk powder instead of ground oats. Now I make them for my daughter and use the oats to give her a fiber boost. I only use half the amount of honey and we think they are plenty sweet enough.
I also mix the coconut right in, in addition to putting some on the outside. YUM!!!
As others have said, they are delicious with a little cocoa powder too.
[...] Snow Balls (adapted from this recipe on Weelicious) [...]
Just made these with two of my daughters for them to take to school tomorrow for class snack. Came together so fast, the kids had fun rolling the balls, and they loved the ones they taste-tested.
Is the peanut butter pretty thick when mixed with the other ingredients? I spread it thinly on tortillas, bread, etc now because I’m always a little wary of the choking warnings I’ve heard.
Thats interesting, I have never heard of that. The peanut butter should be smooth and will thicken with the mixture.
OMG so easy yet so delicious!!!! Thank you!
[...] Coconut Peanut Butter Balls Makes 40-50 balls depending on the size [...]
Super good! Great idea for little helpers. Thank you:)
I made these today for the first time. My kids enjoyed rolling them in coconut. They were AMAZING! And the entire first batch is gone in the first day because we could not stop eating them
I may try less honey next time because I think they would be plenty sweet without 1/2 a cup but wondering if I would need to add more PB to replace it. Also I used sunbutter and GF oats in ours and the consistency was perfect.
Ok, this might seem like a silly question, but once you freeze them, how do you serve them? Do you just take them straight from the freezer and pop them in your mouth OR do you let them defrost a bit before serving? LOVE THIS RECIPE!
I just made them and used half of the ground oats the recipe calls for and for the other half I put in flax seed meal. In addition to the coconut I also threw some dark chocolate chips in the food processor so my kids could roll them in either one…although the chocolate seems to be winning! (because it’s ground so fine, they’re really not getting much chocolate when all is said and done)
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can you use quick oats for these by chance?
could i substitute the honey for agave nectar? if so how much of the nectar would i need to use?
I did and it was perfection. Same measurement as honey
We made these for the first time today. “Snow” balls were the perfect treat/activity for our first day of advent. Thanks Catherine!
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Perfect for school snack during “snow” week. Thanks!
I have a 6 yr old and love making nutritious lunches and snacks for her. I just made these and they are AMAZING. And so simple. I used organic natural peanut butter and agave nectar instead of the honey. I didn’t have unsweetened (and didn’t want to use sweetened) coconut, so I ground up more oats, added some ground flax seed and coated them in that. Amazing!
made these with the kids just now, they had a blast making them. didn’t have any coconut so we used ground flax meal and also used natural organic almond butter. another great hit from weelicious
)) cannot wait for your cookbook
These were wonderful! Thanks for sharing the recipe. I added a little wheat germ as well and my boys loved them!