Substitute whole milk for the orange juice, omit the orange zest, and add 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon to the peanut butter and honey mixture before adding the cereal.The component parts of the granola you choose to make these healthful snack balls change the nature of the mixture. My favorite contains nuts as well as dried cranberries, but use whatever suits your fancy or whatever you have in the house.
Yield: 3 dozen
Active time: 10 minutes
Start to finish: 40 minutes, including 30 minutes to chill
2 cups gluten-free granola cereal
1/2 cup commercial peanut butter
3 tablespoons honey
2 to 4 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice
1 tablespoon grated orange zest
Vegetable oil spray
1. Finely chop granola in a food processor fitted with the steel blade, using on-and-off pulsing. Set aside.
2. Whisk peanut butter and honey in mixing bowl until smooth. Add granola, orange juice, and orange zest, and stir with a strong spatula until mixed well. Add additional orange juice, if necessary, so mixture stays together.
3. Spray your hands with vegetable oil spray. Make mixture into 1-inch balls, and arrange balls on a baking sheet. Refrigerate for a minimum of 30 minutes.
Note: The balls can be stored refrigerated for up to 1 week. Place them in an airtight container with sheets of plastic wrap in between the layers.
Variations
Substitute whole milk for the orange juice, omit the orange zest, and add 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon to the peanut butter and honey mixture before adding the cereal.
Substitute almond butter for the peanut butter. If using natural almond butter, add 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar.
Add 3/4 cup chopped dried fruit.
Add 3/4 cup miniature chocolate chips or butterscotch chips.
When cooking, the level of seasoning or sweetening of the component ingredients needs to be taken into consideration. In the case of this candy, both the granola and commercial peanut butter have a fair amount of sugar, so the additional honey is more of a binder than a sweetener.
