One of my favorite lunches growing up was a PB&J sandwich on white Wonderbread. Who doesn’t love peanut butter and jelly? And Wonderbread—that was just great stuff before anyone realized bread shouldn’t be glow-in-the-dark white.
I’m getting sidetracked. What I meant to say was that these taste like the filling of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, that point where the sweetness of the jelly meets the smooth salty peanut butter. Since I hardly ever buy loaves of gluten-free bread, that’s not a taste I get to experience much; now I can have it whenever in a tasty raw snack.
You can mix in chopped peanuts at the final mixing step for a crunchier texture. For a different “jelly” flavor, use dried raspberries or dried strawberries in place of the raisins.
PB&J Balls
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 0 minutes
Ingredients(Makes about 18 balls):
- 1 1/2 cup pitted dates
- 1/2 cup raisins
- 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
- 3 Tablespoons chia seeds(optional but recommended)
Method:
- Place the dates and raisins into a food processor and blend until they come together and form a dough ball.
- Add in the peanut butter and chia seeds and continue blending until everything has mixed together.
- Move the ingredients to a bowl and work them with your hands until it forms one big dough ball.
- Break off pieces by the ounce and roll into balls between your palms. Store in an air-tight container at room temperature for up to a week.
I loved these even more after a day when the chia seeds had taken out some of the moisture and made them nice and chewy. It reminded me of a PB&J Larabar, so you could definitely shape these into bar form and have your own homemade ones.
