Fuel up for hours with these easy breezy cranberry-white chocolate energy bites. Made wholesome ingredients like oats, cranberries, and almond butter, these red and white-dotted bites are sweet, tart and satiating.
We have an issue with Christmas carols in our house. As soon as mid-October hits, one of us (who shall not be named) starts playing Bing Crosby’s Christmas Christmas Classics on repeat. I’ve already heard Silent Night more than a dozen times – and it’s not even December.
With all this Christmassy sentiment ringing through my ears, I can’t help but think about all the deliciousness that will be coming our way over the next month. Like many of you, our calendar is already sprinkled with potlucks, parties, and cocktail soirees to celebrate the silly season.
This recipe was inspired by the constant caroling going on in our house, and a little holiday party planning. I wanted to create something that felt like dessert, looked festive and that I could bring to a potluck or gift. And I wanted it to be better-for-you than the average holiday party treat.
White Chocolate and Cranberry Energy Balls
Made with a combination of oats, cranberries, mini white chocolate chips, and almond butter, these bites are the ultimate intersection of sweet, wholesome and shareable. Forget the oven. All you need is a blender and a touch of manpower to turn a few household ingredients into a delicious, giftable holiday treat.
Sure, they look festive but there’s nothing to stop you from making them at any time of year. The ingredients are available all year-round and they make an excellent pre-workout snack or an easy dessert.
Health Benefits of Oats
Old-fashioned oats are the most abundant ingredient in this recipe and before I get to the recipe, I wanted to take a sec to shine a light on some of their benefits:
- Oats are a rich source of beta-glucan, a type of carbohydrate that appears to help reduce total cholesterol and bad cholesterol (LDL), two markers of heart health [1].
- Whole grains such as oats are packed with fiber and a fiber-rich diet has been shown to:
- Help protect against colorectal cancer;
- Assist with weight management;
- Promote blood glucose control and;
- Nourish the microbiome [2].
- Higher consumption of oats and oat bran is linked with improved blood sugar control, especially in people who are overweight and/or have type II diabetes [3].
Alright, you earned it. Without further ado here’s my White Chocolate-Cranberry Energy Bite recipe.
Print
No-Bake, White Chocolate-Cranberry Energy Balls
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 hours
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 20 balls 1x
- Category: snacks, pre-workout, dessert, holiday, Thanksgiving, Christmas
Description
Fuel up for hours with these easy breezy cranberry-white chocolate energy bites. Made wholesome ingredients like oats, cranberries, and almond butter, these red and white-dotted bites are sweet, tart and satiating.
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup old-fashioned oats
- 1/3 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
- 1/2 cup unsweetened almond butter
- 1/4 cup mini white chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries
- 2 tbsp maple syrup
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Add the oats to a blender container. Pulse a few times until the oats become a coarse flour.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the oats, coconut, almond butter, white chocolate chips, cranberries, maple syrup, salt, and ground cinnamon. Stir until the ingredients are well-combined and evenly distributed.
- Roll the oat mixture into balls roughly 2.5cm/1-inch in diameter. If the oat mixture is too dry to form balls add more almond butter one tablespoon at a time. Continuing rolling the oat mixture into balls until all of the oat mixture is used up. Store in the fridge.
Notes
Cranberries can be swapped for chopped tart cherries.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 2 balls
- Calories: 84.92 kcal
- Sugar: 4.86 g
- Sodium: 32.37 mg
- Fat: 5.31 g
- Saturated Fat: 1.52 g
- Carbohydrates: 8.68 g
- Fiber: 1.35 g
- Protein: 1.95 g
- Cholesterol: 0.45 mg
References
Oats and CVD risk markers: a systematic literature review. Thies F, Masson LF, Boffetta P, Kris-Etherton P. Br J Nutr. 2014 Oct;112 Suppl 2:S19-30. doi: 10.1017/S0007114514002281. Review.
Health Benefits of Fiber Fermentation. Dahl WJ, Agro NC, Eliasson ÅM, Mialki KL, Olivera JD, Rusch CT, Young CN. J Am Coll Nutr. 2017 Feb;36(2):127-136. doi: 10.1080/07315724.2016.1188737. Epub 2017 Jan 9. Review.
The difference between oats and beta-glucan extract intake in the management of HbA1c, fasting glucose and insulin sensitivity: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. He LX, Zhao J, Huang YS, Li Y. Food Funct. 2016 Mar;7(3):1413-28. doi: 10.1039/c5fo01364j.
