A holiday cookie for your consideration: Healthy free-form buckeyes

Posted by Sarah Henning December 2, 2012 at 5:24 p.m.

A holiday cookie for your consideration: Healthy free-form buckeyes

My Healthy Free-Form Buckeyes taste amazing. Seriously. If you like the original, you MUST try these. by Sarah Henning

Last week, I promised a holiday cookie recipe. And, boy, do I have one for you. It’s super tasty, extremely easy and about as healthy as a holiday cookie can be. Plus, it is reminiscent of a holiday favorite: the peanut butter-chocolate yumminess that is the “buckeye.”

Yes, buckeyes without the powdered sugar and butter, but with all the taste. (They’re Megan Stuke/Flying Fork approved, so yeah, they’re GOOD.)

Now, I’ll quit my yapping and cut to the recipe, because I’m sure you want to get started.

Healthy Free-Form Buckeyes

1 cup puffed kamut or brown-rice cereal (I used Arrowhead Mills Puffed Kamut)

½ cup smooth peanut butter (or other nut/seed butter)

½ cup pure maple syrup

½ cup chocolate chips

Cacao nibs (optional)

First, cover a cookie sheet in parchment or wax paper OR fill a mini-muffin pan with liners — you will be freezing your buckeyes either on the paper or liners, it’s up to you.

Next, in a food processor, mix together the maple syrup and peanut butter until smooth.

Before mixing. by Sarah Henning

After mixing. (If you like those maple nut butters you can buy in the store, try making your own this way. You're welcome.) by Sarah Henning

Add cereal and process, taking care to stop the machine and scrape down the sides when necessary. Process the dough until it gets to the “ball” stage.

The "ball stage" is when the dough in your food processor forms a rough ball as it goes round and round. by Sarah Henning

Next, use a teaspoon to scoop out loose balls onto your parchment or into your mini-muffin liners.

Just the dough. My son ate three of these, chocolate be darned. by Sarah Henning

Once all the dough has been used, pour your chocolate chips in microwave-safe bowl or Pyrex and melt them in the microwave, going at 30-second intervals and then 15-second intervals as you get closer to all the chips being melted. Stir in between stints in the microwave. When your chips have all melted into a thick liquid, use a teaspoon to drizzle the chocolate on top of your buckeye balls. Top with cacao nibs if desired.