These 4- Ingredient Peanut Butter Bites are a perfect Monday afternoon snack! Check out the recipe on healthy-liv.com

In full disclosure, I did not "create" this recipe. I ran across it a while back and had it stored in my bookmarks until a recent opportunity popped up featuring honey. 

This wonderful 4- Ingredient Peanut Butter Choclate Energy Bite is perfect for the time of day I'm writing this article. It's around 3 PM, when I'm wrapping getting ready to switch gears, am peckish, but it's still a long way off from dinner (especially since I have a 6:30 PM meeting tonight.) 

Instead of reaching for another girl scout cookie, this is a good way to get some energy into me! Now, I have to admit, my ingredients are not "clean" as I used whatever creamy PB I have on hand (at the moment, its JIF), regular old- fashioned oats, and no special seeds or bran. 

It's superfast to whip up though, and while sticky, they are easy to store in Tupperware containers. It's a no- bake recipe as well, which is even more of a plus!

Grab your tray liner, a bowl, and a spatula!

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup natural peanut butter (or whatever you have on hand) 
• 1 3/4 cup old-fashioned or quick-cooking oats (note, you don't need to cook oats here) 
• 1/3 cup honey (or slightly more if needed to bind everything together)
• 1/3 cup semisweet or dark chocolate chips (I prefer mini)
• Optional: 1/4 cup wheat bran, hemp seeds, flax seeds, chia seeds, or hemp seeds

• If using refrigerated peanut butter, add peanut butter to a medium microwave-safe mixing bowl and microwave for 20-30 seconds, until the peanut butter is less solid. Let the peanut butter cool so it won't melt the chocolate.
• Add the rest of the ingredients to the mixing bowl and stir for 2-3 minutes, until fully combined. At this point, if the dough is very sticky, you can refrigerate it for an hour or pop it in the freezer for 20 minutes to slightly firm up.
• Line a baking dish or rimmed cookie sheet with wax or parchment paper. Using a cookie scoop, spoon, or your hands, form the dough into about 24 tablespoon-sized balls and place in a single layer on the baking dish or cookie sheet. Refrigerate for an hour or freeze for at least 20 minutes before transferring to a storage bag so the balls will hold their shape.
• Notes from me:
•  mine never became balls. The shape didn't hold, so they look more like haystacks 
• also, I used a liner on my cookie sheet for quick and easy cleanup! 
• To store, place energy bites in a Ziploc bag or storage container. Refrigerate for up to 2 weeks or freeze for up to 3 months.