The genesis of a title is rarely a project for Diana and me. We are usually in a pile of ingredients and props and end up calling whatever we are shooting SOMETHING and it sticks. Diana said “yum” every time I said veggie burger, hence the title on that one. And these, well, they’re just ugly balls. Of course, we laughed hysterically when making and shooting these because our lives turned into a real-life SNL skit.
Other than the title, these ugly balls started because Diana wanted a quick energy bite to snack on before running to a meeting, the gym, whatever. They had to be healthy but they also couldn’t leave you feeling ravenous in fifteen minutes – a common problem with us. We fiddled with the ingredients and the assembly to make a delicious, but super ugly, energy ball.
These have a chewy texture with a bit of crunch and even the crumbs taste good! If you leave them out and they get a little dry, crumble them up over yogurt for a fine granola!
- 1 ½ cup rolled oats
- ¼ cup coconut sugar
- ¼ cup ground flax seeds
- ½ cup slivered almonds
- ¼ cup coconut oil
- 1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste, totally optional but delicious
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt, your balls should be slightly salty
- ½ cup almond butter
- 1 cup dried cherries
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- Toss oats, sugar, flax, almonds and coconut oil together. Add vanilla bean paste, cinnamon and kosher salt and spread evenly on a sheet tray. Toast for 10 to 12 minutes or until everything looks and smells toasty. Set aside to cool.
- In a food processor pulse toasted oat mixture with dried cherries and almond butter until the mixture starts to hold together. If it feels dry, you can add a bit more almond butter. Your balls shouldn’t be sticky; sticky balls wouldn’t be ok.
- Roll the mixture in balls. Our balls are 1-ounce each so we can eat lots of balls. You get the theme here…
- Will keep at room temperature in an air-tight container for up to a week or can be frozen for up to 3 months.
