An affordable and easy crowd-pleaser! wholesome and satisfying, with the added bonus of veggies tucked away among kid-friendly, delicious mashed potatoes, ground beef, and mountains of melting cheddar cheese! Excellent for get-togethers, potluck lunches and dinners, sporting events, and even for youngsters who don’t eat a lot of vegetables! Nice for time-pressed cooks who enjoy leftovers that reheat easily and improve in flavor the next day!
| Prep Time: | 20 mins |
| Total Time: | 20 mins |
| Servings: | 12 |
| Yield: | 24 1-tablespoon balls |
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups quick-cooking oats, divided
- 1 cup raisins, divided
- ½ cup creamy natural peanut butter
- 2 tablespoons applesauce, or more as needed
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ⅓ cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips
- 2 tablespoons unsalted peanuts
Instructions
- Grind 1/2 cup oats in food processor into a powder; transfer to a bowl.
- Process 1/2 cup raisins in a food processor until thick and paste-like; add peanut butter, applesauce, brown sugar, vanilla extract, and cinnamon. Blend mixture again until smooth. Blend ground oats into the mixture until it begins to clump together. If more moisture is needed to achieve clumping, add more applesauce.
- Transfer the raisin mixture to a bowl. Mix remaining oats, remaining raisins, chocolate chips, and peanuts with the raisin mixture; roll by rounded tablespoon into small balls.
- A moist consistency is important for forming balls, so the amount of applesauce can be adjusted as needed.
- I store these in the fridge, though it does make the texture more crumbly.