Good Eats at the (Toddler) TEOTWAWKI Café—Peanut Butter and Jelly Oat Balls

(This was supposed to have posted two months ago.  I have no idea what happened.  Life as a computer-impaired person.)

My husband called me at 4:44AM to lament about his morning commute.  (Yes, he did know that I would be awake; otherwise, it would have been a rude time to make a phone call.)  Snowing, white-out conditions, he couldn’t see the road, going maybe 25MPH, and navigating by the reflectors on the snow poles.  He said he wanted me to give our daughter an advisory on the road conditions before she departed herself in a few minutes. 

The snow wasn’t going to affect my early morning plans much.  I just knew it was cold and I didn’t want to get out of bed.  I’d already done everything else I do in bed every morning—prayer (on my knees, but under the covers—it’s cold!), scripture study, other reading, Duolingo, review my daily agenda, check the news….  All that remained was to come up with a blog article.  A basic food storage recipe.  One I could whip up quickly this morning after I find my way to the kitchen. 

I settled on the peanut butter and jelly oat balls, thinking of my little granddaughter.  Emphasis on the little.  She still ranks below the first percentile on growth charts for her age.  You might guess that she doesn’t eat much.  You might also guess this is a source of some stress for her parents.  Yes, we all know that not everyone can be above average—some people have to fill in the lower ranks, but having a child that small and getting chewed out by the pediatrician can make a person uncomfortable.  Especially in an age when an oppressive government can decide to step in and take the child. 

We need some quick, healthy, high-calorie snacks for her that aren’t processed junk. 

You can find lots of similar recipes on the ‘net, some billed as protein balls, some as energy balls.  Some call for chia and hemp seeds, some including protein powder, things most preparedness-oriented folks won’t be storing in quantity.  The following two recipes use real, normal food from a well-stocked pantry.

Peanut Butter and Jelly Oat Balls

1 ½ cups quick-cooking oats, divided

1 cup creamy peanut butter

¹/₃ cup powdered sugar

2 tablespoons powdered milk

2 tablespoons jelly or jam

Combine 1 cup oats, peanut butter, powdered sugar, and powdered milk in a small bowl and knead until well blended.  Shape the dough into twelve balls, each about 1 ¼” in diameter.

Flatten each ball into about ¼” thick circles.  Place ½ teaspoon of jelly in the center of each circle and wrap the dough around the jelly.  Pinch the edges to seal and re-shape into a ball.  Repeat with remaining jelly and dough. 

Roll the balls in the remaining oats.

Place waxed paper or parchment paper on a cookie sheet.   Place the balls, separated, on the prepared cookie sheet and chill for 30 minutes.

Variation:  Substitute Nutella for the jelly.  The peanut butter balls taste a bit like a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup. 

Family reviews:  I made half with strawberry jam and the other half with Nutella.  Blueberry Girl, Ellie, and I thought they tasted ok.  We definitely preferred the Nutella-centered ones.  Sweet Pea took a fair-sized bite out of three of them, and she was only here for about 1 1/2 hours, and it was right after lunch, so we're going to call it a win for the toddler crowd.

Peanut Butter and Honey Oat Protein Balls

½ cup creamy peanut butter

2 cups old fashioned oats

¹/₃ cup honey

¼ cup powdered milk

Combine everything in a small mixing bowl, kneading well to distribute the ingredients evenly.  Refrigerate 30 minutes.  Use a spoon and wet hands to form into 20 balls. 

I recommend making these as is, plain, at first.  Then when children need a little change of pace, add in some mini M&Ms, mini chocolate chips, coconut, dried, chopped fruit, or the following custom flavors:

Blueberry lemon:  dried blueberries and ½ teaspoon lemon zest.

Cherry vanilla: dried cherries and ½ teaspoon vanilla extract.

Birthday cake:  ¼ teaspoon almond extract and 3 tablespoons sprinkles.

Almond joy:  Substitute almond butter for the peanut butter and add ¼ cup shredded coconut.

Links to related posts:

Peanut Butter Play Dough