If you love Cowboy Cookies, you will love this no-bake version with no flour and no eggs, and additional healthy ingredients, like natural peanut butter, to turn them into energy balls. A great snack on the go or for your outdoor trip!
Have you taken time to enjoy the outdoors this summer? It is so hot here in Mississippi, that we typically find indoor activities during the summer months, but the time is approaching where we will get back outside and breathe in the fresh air! This also means time to explore!
We're making plans to visit Vicksburg National Military Park soon and learn more of Mississippi's Civil War history. While there, we want to also discover how we can help preserve our national parks, whether that means we take a bag with us and pick up trash, sign up to contribute financially, or find ways to take action with the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA).
Do you have other ideas on how we can help preserve our local parks, nature center, or community?
I developed this Cowboy Cookie Energy Balls recipe in celebration of Smucker's® Natural Peanut Butter teaming with the NPCA to "Make a Natural Difference" in protecting and enhancing America's national parks. Through this partnership, Smucker's Natural Peanut Butter is encouraging you to Make a Natural Difference and giving you the chance to win a Sony Digital SLR camera and 18-135mm lens, along with a carrying case, Shutterfly gift cards and jars of natural peanut butter. Click here for more information on how to enter this giveaway.
In the meantime, you can also enter another giveaway Smucker's Natural Peanut Butter is sponsoring just for my readers! More on that at the end of this post...
First, let's talk about these energy balls that are a great snack for you to take to the park! Not too long ago, I shared with you a Chocolate Cranberry Almond Energy Balls recipe. These are similar, but take on the flavor of your favorite Cowboy Cookies. I had been in the middle of testing out different Cowboy Cookie recipes, and then thought "I can easily make energy balls with the same flavors but healthier ingredients and less time!" So, these were born!
As much as we love the Chocolate Cranberry Almond Energy Balls, we love these Cowboy Cookie ones even more! It must be from the pecans. And, although I'm not the biggest coconut fan, the addition of the flakes was welcoming for me and not overpowering. These truly are a great snack to take with you (keep them cool, though!) or just to grab from your fridge when you need a healthy sweet bite!
And... can we ever argue a recipe that takes only 10 minutes to put together?
This post is brought to you by The J.M. Smucker Company. All opinions are mine.
Giveaway (Enter using giveaway widget below):
Recipe Card
No-Bake Cowboy Cookie Energy Balls
Ingredients
- ½ cup natural peanut butter
- ⅓ cup honey
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- ¾ cup old-fashioned oats
- ¼ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- ¼ cup flaked coconut
- ¼ cup chopped pecans
- ¼ cup raisins
- 2 tablespoons ground flaxseed (optional)
- 1 tablespoon chia seeds (optional)
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the peanut butter, honey, vanilla, cinnamon and salt until creamy. Stir in the oats, chocolate chips, coconut, pecans, raisins, flax seed, and chia seeds.
- Use a small cookie scoop to spoon bite-sized mounds onto a lined baking sheet, then form each mound into a ball by rolling between your hands. Place baking sheet in the fridge to chill for at least 30 minutes before serving. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week.
Nutrition
