Power Through the 3 P.M. Slump With These Protein-Packed Chocolate Peanut Butter Balls

Your chocolate peanut butter balls baking class, right this way. 

You love Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups and Rice Krispie Treats on their own, but TIL that the two desserts are even better together. If you’ve never tested this hypothesis for yourself, don’t worry: Nutritionist and chef Mia Rigden of Well+Good’s Alt-Baking Bootcamp did the experiment for you. Spoiler alert: The resulting no-bake, chocolate peanut butter balls will not disappoint.

You just need six ingredients to get this recipe going, many of which you likely already have in your pantry. Of course, you’ll need good old peanut butter and chocolate chips. So set those down, then grab puffed rice, coconut flour, honey (or maple syrup if you want a vegan dessert), and salt. That’s it.

If you’ve been using peanut butter in your recipes for so long that you’ve forgotten why it’s such an amazing ingredient, here’s the deal. “Peanut butter is a fantastic source of healthy fats,” says Rigden. “It’s also a legume, so it’s a great source of protein and it’s delicious.” A tablespoon of peanut butter (which is about the amount you’ll find in a single one of these bonbons) contains about 4 grams of protein. And those “healthy fats” Rigden speaks of are called monosaturated fats, which help reduce the amount of LDL cholesterol in your body—thereby helping to lower your risk of heart disease and stroke. In other words, there’s a lot happening in a peanut.

Dark chocolate has a lot to brag about, too. The flavanols in each chip have an antioxidant effect that helps your body fight against free radicals, a type of unstable atom that can damage your body’s cells. This means that they’re superstars at preventing disease.

To learn even more about this easy, crunchy, chocolatey, creamy, watch the full video.

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