Maple HiFi Buddy Balls—Prototype 1:
 
For some time, I had been dreaming of making these balls in a maple flavor. I quickly threw together this recipe shortly after being invited by a friend from Beverly's Living Hope Church to a Mother's Day cookout a little later that Sunday.

This recipe includes two ingredients that are particularly challenging to shop for—maple flavoring (try Whole Foods Market) and maple sugar (at least if it's granular, which is what I prefer, as opposed to the molded "candies"). If you happen to be driving in Vermont, stock up on some of this sugar (check around for prices, because maple sugar can be very expensive). When you get back home, store it in the refrigerator, rather than at room temperature, in order to help prolong this ingredient's shelf life.
 
6 oz. melted, white chocolate
16 oz. whipped lowfat cottage cheese ("no salt added" recommended)
(When combining the two above ingredients, start off by blending just some of the cottage cheese—perhaps close to half of the total amount—with all of the white chocolate, using heat along the way, so that this chocolate does not solidify back up. Once it is thoroughly "dissolved", no additional heat should be needed upon adding the rest of the cottage cheese.)
1 cup maple sugar
2 teaspoons maple flavoring
8.8 oz. finely ground Bran Buds (mix this in last, and mix it fast)

This small, simple list of ingredients only yields about 18 two-ounce balls, so increase the proportions if more balls are desired.
 
The hosts at the cookout, Eric and Mary Beth, as well as some guests, expressed their appreciation for this HiFi treat. I enjoyed it myself and felt that the maple flavor in particular was sufficient—that's pretty good for a first prototype here.
 

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