Powerball Cookies
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These no bake energy bites have been a long-time favorite in my home. Powerball Cookies are a healthy, satiating, freezer-friendly snack. Make sure to make a double batch too. Not only do these make a great afternoon snack, they can also be a great breakfast!
Much to Love About These Energy Bites
- Delicious: Confession time: I make Powerballs nearly every afternoon. Just a few of these snack cookies help me POWER through the 2 p.m. doldrums. They are SO tasty with a cup of coffee, too.
- Satiating: Not only do they stave off the afternoon munchies, but the balance of macronutrients (fat, protein, and carbs) make these a high-quality snack or breakfast for athletes, too.
- Simple to Make: Lastly, these are so simple to make that even kids can do this!
- Freezer-Friendly: Follow our instructions for flash freezing these cookies and then store them in the freezer for a pick-me-up snack anytime. They just need a few minutes to thaw on the counter.
Ingredients Needed
With a few simple pantry ingredients, you can whip these up in no time! The beauty of this power ball recipe is the ingredients are somewhat fluid. Add or subtract based on what you like or what you have on hand.
Here are you some of the ingredients you can include, but choose your own adventure…
- Peanut butter – PB tastes the best but you can sub in almond butter or sunbutter.
- Honey – I have tried this with maple syrup and it’s not the same–too runny.
- Old-fashioned or quick oats – I prefer the texture of quick oats.
- Ground flaxseed – Adds fiber.
- Chocolate chips – You can use dark chocolate chips or mini chocolate chips. (I prefer minis for the texture.)
- Possible add-ins: unsweetened shredded unsweetened coconut, chopped nuts (i.e. chopped pecans, sliced almonds, etc.), chia seeds, soft dried fruits (i.e. raisins, dried cranberries, etc), M&Ms.
My personal go-to cookie mix is simple–peanut butter, honey, quick oats, flax, mini chocolate chips, and shredded coconut. That’s the perfect combo in my opinion but feel free to experiment!
How to Make Power Ball Cookies
Like I mentioned, this no bake cookie recipe is so simple that the kids can help you!
- Round up all of the ingredients you want to use and add them all into a big ‘ol mixing bowl. Stir like crazy to make sure all the ingredients are well combined.
- Then, wet your hands slightly, and roll into 1 to 1 1/2 inch sized balls. Place in a storage container or freezer bag in a single layer. Divide layers with parchment paper.
- Store in the fridge for up to a week or in the freezer for 3-6 months.
Pro Tip
I’ve found that if I warm the peanut butter and honey just a tad initially, it makes it easier to stir all of the ingredients together.
How to Freeze Powerball Cookies
Freeze For Later: Follow Steps 1-3. Place the rolled cookies on a sheet pan (line with parchment paper for easier clean up). Place in the freezer for an hour or so, until hardened. Place them into a freezer bag or airtight freezer container for up to 3 months.
Prepare From Frozen: Either set cookies out on the counter to thaw slightly or warm in the microwave for about 15 seconds.
FAQs
They will last in the refrigerator for up to a week and in the freezer for 3-6 months. It is best to store them in an air-tight container for maximum freshness.
My personal go-to cookie mix is simple–peanut butter, honey, quick oats, flax, mini chocolate chips, and shredded coconut. That’s the perfect combo in my opinion but feel free to experiment!
More Healthy Snack Ideas
Looking for more satisfying but healthier snacks? Try a few of these…
Did you make this? Snap a photo and tag us on Instagram at @thrivinghome so we can see your creations and cheer you on!
Powerball Cookies
Powerball Cookies are a healthy, real-food, no bake snack cookie. Careful, it’s hard to stop at just one!
Ingredients
- 1 cup peanut butter (sub: almond butter or sunbutter)
- 1 cup honey (you can cut this back a bit, if you’d like)
- 3 cups quick or old-fashioned oats (I prefer quick)
- 1/2 cup ground flaxseed
- 1 cup dark chocolate chips or 3/4 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1 cup any combination of these add-ins: unsweetened shredded coconut, chopped nuts (i.e. chopped pecans, sliced almonds, etc), chia seeds, soft dried fruits (i.e. raisins, dried cranberries, etc)
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Instructions
Make It Now:
- In a medium mixing bowl, stir together the peanut butter and honey until smooth. (Tip: You may want to warm them in the microwave first to make this step easier.)
- Stir in oats and flaxseed. Add the chocolate chips and your 1 cup of preferred add-ins. Stir until well combined.
- Using wet hands or a wet cookie scoop, shape the mixture into 30-35 balls. Use a heaping tablespoon of mixture per cookie. Store in the fridge for up to a week or in the freezer using the directions below.
Freeze For Later: Follow Steps 1-3. Place the rolled cookies on a sheet pan (line with parchment paper for easier clean up). Place in the freezer for an hour or so, until hardened. Place them into a freezer bag or airtight freezer container for up to 3 months.
Prepare From Frozen: Either set cookies out on the counter to thaw slightly or warm in the microwave for about 15 seconds.
Notes/Tips
- My personal go-to cookie mix is simple–peanut butter, honey, quick oats, flax, mini chocolate chips, and shredded coconut. That’s the perfect combo in my opinion but feel free to experiment!
- Crunchy peanut butter is yummy also!
- I often cut the honey back to 3/4 cup and make up the 1/4 cup with more nut butter
These are so good! I always make a double batch because we go through them so fast.
Ditto! Good use of your time for sure.
Yummy! Made these today and they were great. The flax seed will take some getting use to but the rest was great. Did dried cherries and pistachios.
Sounds delicious!
These are so good, I feel like I’d never have to make chocolate chip cookies again. I agree that you could cut back the honey and replace it with peanut butter (I’ll do that next time). We don’t love dried fruit in this house so I just used all pecans for the nut/fruit portion. So good.
Really glad to hear you liked them, Alicia. Thanks for the comment and review!
In the instructions it says to “flash freeze”, how do you do this? I am excited to make these!
Good question! Flash freeze just means to place the cookies on a rimmed baking sheet or in a shallow dish in the freezer. Make sure they aren’t touching. Once they are frozen, you can throw them in a freezer bag and pull out however many you want at a time. Hope that helps!
Incredible recipe! I’ve recommended to several friends. I always freeze them but they never last very long in our house anyway.
Thanks, Shauna. I have to throw these in the freezer so they are out of sight, because they never last long around here either. 🙂
Thank you so much for this recipe. I surprised my family with them tonight and they are a big hit! These are also going to be great little energy bites as I move into my third trimester. Thank you! Happy New Year!
Sweet! So glad these will be helpful to your growing family. Congrats!
their in the fridge right now but once they come I am gonna pop pop pop them into my mouth
OMG these cookies were like the best thing that ever happened to me like wow I am soooooooooo telling everybody about ur sooooooooo totally awesome recipe!!!!!! Yeah man GO POWERBALLS
Hi Rachel,
Just curious as to whether you’ve had any luck with baking these as opposed to nuking them. Love the simplicity of it, though, and can’t wait to make them this weekend!
Tracy, I’ve never tried to bake them. You’ll have to let me know if you try. I don’t think they’d make it to the oven b/c we eat them before then. 🙂
Hi, Rachel!
I made something similar with my kindergarten class when I was in kindergarten many, many moons ago. We were doing an activity in Girl Scouts a few years ago, so I did my best to remember what we put in it and made a very similar recipe to this (without the chocolate chips) and added a little powdered milk to the recipe. We called them “squirrel food.” They enjoyed them very much. These definitely have a lot of energy and are so much fun to make with (or for) children, just not too late at night or they’ll never get to sleep. 😉
Squirrel Food…love it!
My three-year-old daughter and I are making these when she wakes up as a reward for her taking a good nap. I think she and my husband will love them! Um, and if she doesn’t I’m okay with eating a few now and then from my freezer. 😉
Nice, Natalie! I’ve been known to use them as a reward, too. 🙂 Enjoy!
Oh, I'm so glad you tried these! My boys really do love them and they inhale them. They last in the fridge for several days, too, fyi! 🙂
Hi Jena,
I feed them to Hannah (15 months and has only her front teeth) and she does fine. You might take out the dried fruit from the toddler bites.
Also, I may try making them with Agave nectar instead of honey next time to cut back on the amount of sugar for my kids. Just an idea.
Thanks for reading!
These look great Rachel. Would you say they're soft enough for younger toddlers?
Thanks! Really enjoy the blog too!
Jena
Thanks for reading, Ashley. I think I've seen your comments on Every Square Inch before?? Way to take some steps towards healthy eating! Hope we can meet sometime.
Rachel – we haven't met, but I really enjoy reading your blog (and have for about a month). In fact, it may just motivate me to cook a bit more! We've been trying to eat more whole wheat, fruits and veggies while avoiding too much salt and sugar. Still having trouble converting wholly to the beautiful organic aisles of Hy-Vee and Clovers though. Thanks for writing!