a simple recipe :: healthy powerball “cookies” {allergy-friendly}

I am that mom who doesn’t send desserts in her kids’ lunches. I know they would love it, but it just seems like they come home from school sugared up already from the birthday treats, candy prizes and holiday parties, so it just seems a bit redundant giving them even more sugar. But every once in a while I’ll break that rule to give them these “cookies” that are made with no processed sugar (in the base recipe–some of the “mix-ins” do have sugar) and have some healthy ingredients as well. These are also very easy to adapt for kids with allergies.

Ingredients for base recipe:
3 cups oats (use gluten-free, if needed)
1 cup peanut butter (sub sunflower seed butter, almond butter or soy butter, depending on the allergy)
1 cup honey
1/2 cup ground flax seed
***Optional mix-ins–up to 2 cups total of any combination of dried cranberries, raisins, dried cherries or any other dried fruit, chopped into raisin-sized pieces; chocolate chips; shredded coconut; sunflower seeds

Directions:
Mix honey and nut or seed butter together in a large bowl. Add oats and mix until fairly uniform. Add flax seed and mix. Stir in “mix-ins” if desired. Roll into small balls and store in the refrigerator. If you choose to leave out the “mix-ins”, you may want to add a few extra oats to make them a bit less sticky.

***Tip: The dough is very sticky which can make it hard to roll into balls. Try coating your hands with cooking spray or a light layer of oil to prevent the dough from sticking to your hands. Once cold, the cookies aren’t too sticky and make a great addition to a packed lunch or snack.