Making Homemade Peanut Butter .. Then making Mud Balls .. I was not about to pay $1.29 for a Reece's Peanut Butter Cup .. Here is the alternative :)

Today was our day to pick our granddaughter up from school .. As always, she asked Papa for a treat (he typically has something for her when he knows she is coming). Today was different than most days as we were not prepared with that treat we typically have for her. We stopped on the way home from school at the grocery store to see what we could find good. Avery decided she wanted a Reece's Peanut Butter Cup .. WHAT!!!!! $1.29 for 1 candy bar?? Sorry, that is ridiculous!!!!

I remembered back when our kids were younger and I would whip up some homemade peanut butter .. then Mud Balls :) These were always a hit with the kids and only required very minimal ingredients. I made a quick decision that this was what I was going to do .. with the help of Avery of course.

RECIPE FOR HOMEMADE PEANUT BUTTER:
3 Cups of roasted peanuts shelled - remove the brown skin
3 Tablespoons peanut oil

Avery and I had fun removing the shells and brown skin from the peanuts - it took us approximately 30 minutes to get 3 cups of shelled peanuts.

Proof of this madness :)

Here is 3 cups of shelled peanuts and 3 tablespoons of peanut oil

Using a blender, blend the peanuts and peanut oil until a very smooth consistency .. I guess you could leave it somewhat chunky if you like your peanut butter chunky.

This made approximately 1.5 cups of peanut butter which is just enough for the Mud Balls :)

RECIPE FOR THE MUD BALLS:
1.5 Cups Homemade Peanut Butter - you could use store bought if you prefer
1/4 Cup Dry Milk
1/4 Cup Honey
2 Cups of either chocolate graham crackers or chocolate teddy grahams crushed
**NOTE: Half of the chocolate graham crackers should be chopped and the other half should be real fine like dust

Ingredients for the Mud Balls

Man, this dry milk reminds me when I was a kid - my mom, who always had limited funds, would make us powdered milk. I just remember how watery it was .. what in the world am I going to do with the remaining box of dry milk? Any suggestions?

I had to use Teddy Grahams because they did not have any chocolate graham crackers at the store .. In this bowl is 1/2 of the Teddy Grahams crushed but not too fine.

This is the 2nd half of the Teddy Grahams - you want them really fine like dust - I put them in the blender to do this.

This is the result - this will be used to roll the balls in :)

So once you have all of the ingredients ready to go, mix the following items together in a large bowl:

Peanut Butter, Honey, Dry Milk and crushed graham crackers(the crushed ones, not the fine dusty ones).

Mix all together until well blended

You will need to put the Mud Ball mix into the refrigerator for approximately 15 minutes - this will keep them from being too sticky when you go to roll them into balls.

After about 15 minutes, remove them from the refrigerator and roll them into 3/4 inch balls .. actually, you can make them whatever size you prefer .. I prefer them to be approximately 3/4 inch balls. Roll them in the chocolate graham cracker dust .. they are ready to eat!!!! For me, I like them to go back into the refrigerator for another 15 minutes or so but Avery could not wait any longer .. she chomped them down :)

This recipe makes approximately 18 balls .. depending on the size you roll. They should last in the refrigerator for approximately 5 days .. they certainly will not last long in our house :)

For a healthier alternative, you could use nonfat powered milk and low-fat graham crackers. We went all out and got the unhealthy items :) The dry milk does have milk in it therefore this does not qualify as vegan :(

Most children love peanut butter, which is a good source of protein for growth and repair of the body. Sometimes younger children have trouble with the peanut butter sticking to the roof of their mouth, you can thin the peanut butter a bit by adding some milk .. this should prevent gagging.

Did you know that the average American child eats approximately 1500 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches by the time they graduate high school? I did not know this .. I cannot even imagine a stack of 1500 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches .. that seems like a lot!!!!

I hope you enjoyed this post and I would love for you to try this recipe and stop back by and comment your results. With the upcoming Holidays, this may be a recipe you may want to share with Family and Friends.

Thank you so much for visiting today Friends .. Have a GREAT rest of your week .. SUNSHINE247 Loves you!!!!!