Chewy Granola Balls

I came across another great snack recipe on Weelicious, a healthy kids recipe site. I have been trying to find some healthy snacks for Virginia to enjoy. I am trying to cut down on the amount of animal crackers she eats. I decided to try out the Chewy Granola Balls.

The recipe is very simple. It does call for some interesting ingredients like almond butter and rice syrup. I was able to find almond butter at Walmart, but I didn't find rice syrup. I do admit that when I was shopping I wasn't sure what rice syrup even looked like. Maybe now that I know what the product looks like I will be able to find it in Walmart. I subsituited maple syrup for rice syrup. After making the snack I did discover that I used Sunbelt Banana Nut Granola Cereal instead of regular granola. I am known for going shopping and not reading the product name completely. The banana nut granola cereal was delicious, so I was happy.  I also used a little extra almond butter and syrup hoping it would help the balls to stick better. I am a huge fan of peanut butter too and almond butter tastes the same.

My only complaint was I found it hard to get the balls to keep their shape.  Maybe the rice syrup would fix this problem. Other then that the recipe was a big hit with Virginia and I.

The very last photos are for Lisa Harland. She always teases me about the photos of me as a child in my mom's room. Lisa, I believe Virginia has almost mastered the pose.

1/2 Cup Almond Butter

1/2 Cup Rice Syrup

1 Cup Rice Crispys

1 1/2 Cups Wee Granola (or your favorite store bought granola)

1/4 Cup Dried Cranberries, Cherries, Blueberries and/or raisins, chopped

1. Place the almond butter and rice syrup in a small saucepan over low to medium heat and warm for 2 minutes or until it becomes smooth and combined.

2. Place the remaining ingredients in a bowl and stir to combine.

3. Pour the warm almond butter mixture into the bowl with the granola mixture and stir to combine.

4. Roll into 1 inch balls (I used a mini ice cream scooper to scoop out each portion, but you could also use a tablespoon) .

5. Serve.

Finger licking good!