Favorite Things Friday.....Peanut Butter Granola Balls.....

I mentioned a while back about a particular ride Katydid, Rozmo and I do (and sometimes VT) that specializes in awesome rest stops. Not just the standard fruit, cookies, and sports drink (which are all appreciated, by the way), but homemade goodies.

My personal favorite on this ride, the Tony Serrano Century, are the peanut butter granola balls. This year when we got to the first rest stop, the peanut butter granola balls were ALL GONE. That made me ride like hell to rest stop #2, where they had plenty of PBGBs. I was still eating them when the ride was over and the rest stop volunteers were packing up to go home. I chased them to their cars, screaming, "Just one more! Just one more!"

Or maybe it wasn't quite that dramatic. They are good, though.

And the lady who makes them is kind enough to post the recipe on the internet for all the world to enjoy. I'll post the link here in case any of you want to make them. (By the way, I think the first ingredient is supposed to say 2 1/2 cups. It's a little unclear.)

Joyce's Peanut Butter Granola Balls

I decided to make some of these last night and take them to school. I don't think I came out with quite 96 balls, but I tend to grow impatient and the balls get bigger and bigger. The last ones were softball-sized. Not really. I did learn, however, that rolling the balls in my hands means the peanut butter gets all over them, and then the next ball won't hold together. I found myself washing my hands after every ball, and I was dismayed at the prospect of washing my hands 96 times (or however many times I actually wound up ... with ... balls ... I cannot make that sentence structure work, but you know what I mean). I discovered that if I dusted my palms with the graham cracker crumbs, it made the rolling of the balls much smoother. And since the last step was to roll the balls in graham cracker crumbs, it was sort of a short-cut.

I made ours with Splenda instead of sugar, not only to make them better for Hubby, but because we don't typically have sugar in the house at all. And I NEVER have powdered sugar. I also considered using powdered cocoa instead of the mini chocolate chips to cut down more on the calories and fat, but since it was my first time, I made them according to the recipe. I also think adding coconut might be an acceptable variation.

These were a big hit at school today, and several folks emailed to ask for the recipe. Our resource officer muttered something about being a diabetic and walked away before I could tell him they were made with Splenda. Butthead.

Joyce says on the recipe that you can make these ahead of time, and they will last in the refrigerator 2-3 weeks.

She must not know the same folks I do.

Crock Pot Candy.......

I don't normally post recipes on my blog, because APPARENTLY SOMEONE HAS CORNERED THE MARKET ON THAT. However, I mentioned in my Seven Deadly Sins Meme post that one of my guilty pleasures is crock pot candy. Kelly was intrigued and asked me about it in a comment, and I promised her I would post the recipe. To be honest, I haven't made it recently, mainly BECAUSE it is a guilty pleasure.

This recipe was included in my bank statement one month several years ago, and I thought it sounded A) easy; and B) chocolaty. Two points for each of those characteristics. I usually make it around the holidays and give little individual packages to friends and co-workers. Unless I'm feeling particularly Bah-humbuggy, in which case I make a batch of it and PRETEND to give it to friends and family but instead climb into the crock pot and swim around in it.

Crock Pot Candy

1 jar (16-oz.) dry roasted peanuts, unsalted

1 jar (16-oz.) dry roasted peanuts, salted

1 pkg. (12-oz.) semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 bar (4-oz.) German chocolate, broken into pieces

3 lbs. (or 2 planks) white bark, broken into pieces

Put ingredients into a 4 or 5 quart crock pot in order listed. Cover and cook 3 hours on low. DO NOT REMOVE LID. Turn off and cool slightly. Mix thoroughly and drop by teaspoonfuls onto waxed paper. Let cool thoroughly. Approximately 170 pieces. (Yeah, right). 

I made a batch of this and sent it to Sweet Girl when she was on one of her Persian Gulf cruises. It was also a big hit at our family reunion. I've had the idea to make a large container of it and auction it off one year, but I haven't followed through with the thought.

I've wanted to try some variations, too, but I haven't gotten around to THAT either. I would like to try it with almonds instead of peanuts and add coconut. (Can you say Crock Pot Almond Joy?) Or maybe peanut butter added to the mix. Would that be too much peanutty goodness? Or maybe pecans and caramel.

Why don't some of YOU try one of these variations and send me a sample get back to me with the results? It could be fun.