This recipe came about because of the mighty power of Pinterest at Christmas time. I was looking for Stevia low carb desserts and it sucked me in so fast with the beautiful pins of sugary dripping sweets and perfectly decorated homes. These sugar free peanut butter balls were on the horizon! I knew as I scrolled that the perfectly decorated home was 100% out of the question. But maybe I could conjure up one of those sugary dipped chocolate balls that I kept seeing!
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Sugar and Stevia Low Carb Desserts During the Holidays
Sugar at Christmas/the holidays is a tough one, isn't it? It is so easy to just brush off the food we eat by saying that it's just 'once a year. Think about it though. In the mid-west USA, the 'once a year' logic starts right around October 1st when the Apple Orchards open and Caramel Apples and sugary cider hits the local areas. From there we transition into Halloween candy, Thanksgiving goodies, and finally the main event of Christmas cookies and foods. That's about 3 months of 'just once a year.' Another way to think of it is ¼ of the year is taken up by the temptation of the holiday of ‘just once a year’ sugary sweets.
There’s nothing wrong with a treat occasionally, but when ¼ of our year is taken up with sugary temptations, there’s little left to wonder why the gyms are full on January 1st. These sugar-free peanut butter balls are a healthy alternative to the sugary temptations of the holidays.
No Bake Sugar Free Peanut Butter Balls
I absolutely love peanut butter chocolate desserts at Christmas. The combination is just so tempting and addicting. I’m ashamed to say I could down an entire platter of that combination any day!
These chocolate balls are a wonderfully balanced stevia low-carb dessert alternative to the sugary peanut butter chocolate creations at Christmas time. These are easy to modify too if you are not a pumpkin fan, just leave it out! You may need a little bit more nut butter to even it out though.
Another blood sugar balancing stevia low carb desserts recipe is the Mocha Cacoa Superfood Mounds. These tend to be a better snack than dessert and help me stay on the Trim Healthy Mama lifestyle when nursing or pregnancy hunger hits. You can find other healthy recipes in the new Healing Home Harvest FREE cookbook.
What Sweets can I Eat on Low Carb?
This was the first Trim Healthy Mama experiment I had conducted in my new kitchen since we had moved, and it was a delight to have such a big kitchen to experiment in. Eating sweets on a low carb, keto, or Trim Healthy mama diet can be quite simple. All you need is a natural sweetener of choice, and a good recipe!
Some of my favorite natural sweeteners are:
Stevia Low Carb Dessert Recipe Notes
This recipe can be mixed by hand (what I do) or by using a mixer. The consistency should stick together, but not be wet.
The chocolate chips can be melted on a stovetop or in a microwave. Our new home as a microwave and although I tend to stay away from them, I thought I'd use the luxury this time. After 5 years of barely using one I had forgotten how and left the spoon in the bowl! I remembered just in the nick of time.
This was also a great recipe to include the young children in helping. My toddler loved plopping the balls into the chocolate and watching me swirl it around.
The cocoa nibs are a wonderful addition to this recipe as they are a purer form of chocolate, however, they certainly do not need to be used and can be replaced with chocolate chips. Make sure you are getting a quality brand of stevia sweetened chocolate chips. If you are in a pinch using a sugar-free brand can be a personal choice, however, please note that some sugar-free ingredients that may not be ideal.
And that's about it! Wonderfully delicious stevia-sweetened low carb dessert for a delightful treat.
Ingredients for the Sugar Free Peanut Butter Balls
Many of these ingredients are readily on hand, but a few of them might be 'special order' items. My affiliate links are there for your use and as always, I greatly appreciate it when you use them!
- ½ cup peanut butter or other nut butter
- 3 tablespoon de-fatted peanut butter powder
- 2 tablespoon melted coconut oil
- 4 tablespoon gentle sweet or any other stevia substitute
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ¼ cup coconut flour or low carb baking blend
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin spice extract
- ¼ cup (stevia sweetened) chocolate chips plus ½ teaspoon of coconut oil for melting (can skip if dairy free)
How to Make these Sugar Free Peanut Butter Balls
You can watch me make these delicious sugar free peanut butter balls by watching the video below!
Here are a few 'pro-tips' for making your own peanut butter balls.
- Make sure your dough is thoroughly mixed.
- Wet your hands when rolling the dough to make it less sticky.
- Watkins Extract has the best pumpkin pie spice flavor in my opinion!
- Make sure to chill the balls for at least 30 minutes before drizzling the chocolate on top.
Sugar Free Peanut Butter Balls - A Stevia Low-Carb Dessert
These sugar-free peanut butter balls are perfect for an everyday snack, but delectable enough to bring to a holiday gathering! A great stevia low-carb dessert!
Ingredients
- ½ cup peanut butter or other nut butter
- 3 tablespoon de-fatted peanut butter powder
- 2 tablespoon melted coconut oil
- 4 tablespoon gentle sweet or any other stevia substitute
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ¼ cup coconut flour
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin spice extract
- ¼ cup (stevia sweetened) chocolate chips plus ½ teaspoon of coconut oil for melting (can skip if dairy free)
Instructions
Combine all ingredients together except the 1 cup of chocolate chips for dipping. A mixer works well, but these can be combined by hand as well.
The dough should stick together when pressed together. If not, you can add another tablespoon of coconut oil.
Place the dough in the refrigerator for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, melt the chocolate chips with 1 teaspoon of coconut oil using a microwave or stovetop.
Round the dough into small balls.
Drizzle the melted chocolate on top.
Optional - divide the melted chocolate and add 1 or two drops of food coloring to give the swirls multiple colors! a
Place the tray in the freezer until firm
These taste best when kept frozen.
Notes
Sugar free chocolate chips that are purchased at your local store will work as well. These have questionable ingredients that might spike your blood sugar, so be aware that they may not be THM friendly.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 20 Serving Size: 2Amount Per Serving: Calories: 78Total Fat: 7gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 2mgSodium: 44mgCarbohydrates: 6gFiber: 1gSugar: 1gProtein: 3g
Online calculators are estimates only. Use your best judgement when consuming.
Elizabeth says
I love chocolate. I love peanut...this will be amazing. I have to try this :0
Joyce says
could the powdered pumpkin pie spice be used in place of the pumpkin pie extract? i have never seen that flavor of extract.
RachaelBelle says
Yes, you certainly can try that. Watkins has a Pumpkin Pie extract, but Pumpkin Pie Spice should work as well!
Joyce says
recipe ingredient list says 1/2 t coconut oil for melting the choc chips; recipe instructions say 1 T.... which is correct?
RachaelBelle says
Thank you for catching that! I've done both depending on the chocolate I use. If you are using Lily's, I recommend 1/2 t. I will change that in the recipe. Thank you for seeing that!