Chocolate Dipped Peanut Butter Balls
January 12, 2012
One of my lovely readers recently reached out to write a guest post for the CPB gallery. If you are a fan of peanut butter cups (and if you’re reading this site… you’d better be!) you’ll surely love her recipe for Chocolate Dipped Peanut Butter Balls. Take it away, Ellen!
This is an easy recipe with an amazing yummy taste. You can easily gift them to someone or simply refrigerate them for your family. What really makes them special is the creamy peanut butter filling inside the dark chocolate coating.
Remember before buying the ingredients that you have to choose a top quality chocolate to get that perfect taste for your peanut butter balls. The better the chocolate, the better their taste will be.
Making peanut butter balls is a little bit of a time consuming process, however very simple. You can take a look at the recipe after the break.
Chocolate Dipped Peanut Butter Balls
by Ellen Spencer
Ingredients for peanut butter balls
2 cups (480 ml) creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup (57 g) unsalted butter
1/4 tsp salt (optional)
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups (250 g) confectioner’s or icing sugar
Ingredients for chocolate coating
9 oz (260 g) semisweet or bittersweet chocolate
1 Tbsp (15 g) shortening
Garnish
finely chopped peanuts (optional)
Directions
1. Prepare baking sheets: Line two baking sheets with wax paper. Keep them ready so that once the peanut butter balls are ready, you can simply place them on the baking sheets.
2. Make the peanut butter balls: In a baking bowl, combine the peanut butter, unsalted butter and salt. Microwave the ingredients for about a minute. You will have to make sure that the mixture is only soft and not liquid, so after every 20 to 30 seconds, stir it. Add the vanilla and the confectioner’s sugar. Stir the mixture until a firm dough is formed.
3. Roll the peanut butter balls: Roll the dough into 1-inch (2.5 cm) balls. Place the balls on the prepared wax paper-lined sheets and refrigerate them for about an hour.
4. Melt the chocolate for coating: Chop the chocolate and add it to a double boiler set over barely simmering water. Add shortening. Heat gently, stirring until the mixture has melted.
5. Coat the peanut butter balls: Dip the peanut butter balls into the melted chocolate with the help of a toothpick or a fork. When you remove the peanut butter ball from the chocolate, allow all the excess chocolate to drip off. Place the chocolate-covered balls back onto the baking sheet.
6. Garnish the dipped peanut butter balls: After placing the peanut butter balls on the baking sheet, you can sprinkle finely chopped peanuts on top of them. Or you can simply roll the entire peanut butter ball on crushed peanuts.
7. How to store: You can to refrigerate them for about a couple of weeks.
Chocolate Dipped Peanut Butter Balls are very easy to make and are a perfect gift for many occasions. You will just have to spare some time to dip the peanut butter balls into the melted chocolate, as this is the only process that consumes time.
About the author: Ellen Spencer is a blogger and writer. She is a health freak and very environmentally aware. Her writing covers a variety of topics and these days she is busy writing an article on postpartum depression. She has a baby sling of her own in her house.