A delicious healthier snack to keep your craving at bay – these chocolate filled peanut butter energy balls are satisfying, yet made with healthier ingredients.

I’m sure I’m not the only feeling this, but since the temperature suddenly dropped a couple of weeks ago, I seem to be finding myself a lot hungrier than usual. I want to eat all the time! The clocks going back and losing day light hasn’t helped either. The days have become so gloomy that I’m finding myself seeking comfort in food.

I do separate my ‘treats’ from my everyday snacks and I have to make an active effort not to constantly snack on unhealthy treats. A biscuit or a dessert here and there as a treat is fine, but I don’t want all my snacks to be sugar ladened without any kind of nutritional benefit to them.

That’s why I like to make snacks like these chocolate filled peanut butter energy balls. They’re made with better-for-you ingredients like oats (high in fibre) and peanut butter (a source of protein and healthy fats), yet they help satisfy my sweet cravings. The chocolate peanut butter filling also helps when I’m craving chocolate!

They’re really easy to make, no-bake and all you need is a bowl and a spoon to put them together! You can easily scale up the recipe to make a bigger batch or half it if you’re making the recipe just for yourself and don’t want anything to go to waste.

I added a chocolate centre to make them a little more fun and different to other energy balls, but if you’re looking to make the recipe even easier, you can leave out the filling step.

Make these over the weekend to have ready for you in the fridge throughout a busy week. They’re great to grab and go when you need a quick energy pick-me-up!

Chocolate Filled Peanut Butter Energy Balls

Makes – 14 balls

Ingredients

110g (1 cup) oat flour – plain rolled oats blended into a flour in the food processor. Use gluten-free oats if necessary.
125g (1/2 cup) peanut butter*
3 tbsp maple syrup
2 tbsp coconut oil
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
40g (1/4 cup) dairy-free chocolate chips

For the filling
14 tsp chocolate peanut butter

Method

Transfer 14 small teaspoons of the peanut butter onto a baking sheet lined with baking paper and freeze for an hour.
Mix all the oat flour and salt in a bowl, then fold in the peanut butter, maple syrup, melted coconut oil and vanilla. Mix to form a dough, then fold in the chocolate chips.
Shape into equal size balls, then flatten into a round disk. Place the frozen peanut butter in the centre, then fold the dough until completely covered. Roll into a ball and return to the fridge for 30 minutes or so.
Store in an air-tight container in the fridge