CUISINE & CULTURE
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ANGELINA@ANGELINALARUE.COM
ANGELINA L aRUE When I was a little girl, my mom loved to make a sweet treat for us she simply called chocolate balls. She did the same with peanut butter balls. The peanut butter variety typically consisted of powdered milk, honey, and lots of creamy peanut butter. The chocolate variety was a little less nutritious.
I’ve made many varieties of protein balls, filled with fiber and packed with nutrition. But the upcoming holiday has me thinking about a smooth chocolate morsel. This is a treat we can enjoy but feel less guilty about than when eating chocolate bunnies and such.
This is a quick, stir-and-go confection, rich with cocoa, and lightly sweetened with date syrup. If you have a taste for a sweeter bite, date syrup can be replaced with pure maple syrup.
Dark chocolate chips, 60% to 70% cacao, are added for additional sweetness, and texture.
This treat is excellent for those times after dinner when you just need a little something sweet. Or they make an excellent after school snack.
Enjoy food made fresh, especially when you can have your candy, and eat it, too!
Four-Ingredient Chocolate-Peanut Butter Balls ½ cup creamy natural peanut butter ¼ cup cocoa powder 1½ tablespoons date syrup or pure maple syrup ¼ cup dark chocolate chips In a small mixing bowl, add peanut butter and cocoa powder. Mix with a spoon until well blended. Add syrup and continue mixing until combined. Stir in chocolate chips.
Divide mixture into 8 pieces. Roll each one into a ball. It will seem sticky but will come together with ease. Place each one on a small plate and refrigerate until ready to eat. Makes 8 candies.
Angelina LaRue, author of “The Whole Enchilada: Fresh and Nutritious Southwestern Cuisine,” grew up at White River Lake, lives in Idalou and writes a weekly food column for local newspapers.
