Baked Oatmeal & Rice Granola Balls

Used dark chocolate Hershey pieces for the balls, but I had pretty pink M&Ms for decor

Not quite Valentine's Day yet, but I was in a pinky mood this morning. 

I like making my own granola bars because I can control what goes into them.  That means I can reduce the sugar, weird chemicals, and all that icky nonsense. I'll admit, I put dark chocolate Hershey pieces in these because I've been craving chocolate all week, but I typically eliminate all artificial sweeteners. =) 

I usually use oatmeal and whole wheat flour as the base, but I wanted to try something new.  I thought an interesting way to add some chewiness to the granola balls would be to grind up some sweet brown rice until it reaches a floury consistency. Thankfully, it worked! Now my only problem was the Hershey pieces that I added in because the color and coating melted in the oven. Maybe this is a sign that I should have eliminated the dark chocolate....sigh. Oh well, doesn't bother me! 

Next time I would just stick with the bars instead of the balls unless I was making it with someone...took more time that I thought! All you have to do is dump the whole thing on a cookie sheet, press down hard, and pop it in the oven.

About to pop the mini muffin pan into the oven

Baked Oatmeal & Rice Granola Balls:

 Serving Size = 32 balls

Ingredients:
2 cups old fashioned oatmeal (rolled oats)
1/2 cup sweet brown rice, rinsed & finely ground
1/4 cup whole wheat flour

1/4 cup wheat bran

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

2 eggs

1/2 cup water

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup peanuts, light salted*

1/2 cup roasted almonds, lightly salted*

Dark chocolate Hershey pieces or M&Ms (optional)

* I was too lazy to roast my raw almonds (and I had no raw peanuts), but if you use raw nuts, add 1 tsp kosher salt

1) Preheat oven to 350F.

2) Large bowl: Mix dry ingredients

3) Medium bowl: Mix wet ingredients

4) Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients. Mix well!

5) Grab a spoonful of the mixture + 2 chocolate pieces, and roll up into a tight ball. Place into a mini muffin pan to avoid having the balls roll all over the place. Makes approximately 32 granola balls

6) Bake 15-16 minutes

Cute little nutty ball =)

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Nutrition Facts: Baked Oatmeal & Rice Granola Balls w/o Chocolate

Serving Size= 1

Calories: 59*
Fat: 2.5 g*
Carbohydrate: 6.3g
Dietary Fiber: 1g
Protein: 2.6g

* Nuts consist of a lot of calories and fat, but don't forget it's GOOD fat. Nuts are GOOD FOR YOU in moderation, of course!
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