Chocolate Dipped Peanut Butter Balls

These chocolate-covered peanut butter balls taste like Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, but better — think: dark chocolate + peanut butter + sea salt. This is a wonderful recipe to make for holiday gifting. Not only does the recipe yield 165 balls (!!), the balls can be made ahead of time.

This recipe comes from the mother of one of my mother’s students, who made them as a thank you gift for teaching her son. She included the recipe with the balls — how nice?! — and we’ve been making them ever since.

If you have never made something like this, don’t let fear of difficulty or time deter you from making them. Scooping the peanut butter balls and coating them with chocolate does take time, but with a good podcast streaming in the background, it will pass quickly.

And with a little bit of practice and patience, you’ll find your rhythm and I think — hope! — you’ll find it fairly easy and ultimately very rewarding.

Chocolate Dipped Peanut Butter Balls

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• Author: Alexandra Stafford
• Total Time: 2 hours 10 minutes
• Yield: 165 pieces

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Description

The mother of one of my mother’s students made these for Christmas as a gift one year and included the recipe in the gift … how nice?! We’ve been making them ever since.

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Ingredients

• 2 cups (5.5 oz) vanilla wafers
• 1 lb confectioner’s sugar
• 1/2 lb unsalted butter, softened
• 12 oz smooth peanut butter
• 1 lb bag candy-making dark chocolate disks, Merckens brand is good
• Maldon or Fleur de Sel or other flaky sea salt
• paper petit fours wrappers

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Instructions

1. Using food processor with metal blade, combine vanilla wafers and confectioner’s sugar. Pulse until well blended. Add softened butter, and pulse again until well blended. Add peanut butter, a little at a time, pulsing after each addition until well blended. Once smooth, transfer mixture to a separate bowl. At this point, you can either wrap the mixture in plastic wrap and chill for an hour, or you can start forming the balls. I find it easy to form the balls immediately, and then chill them afterwards. (You will ultimately develop a method that works for you.)
2. I used a scale to weigh each ball. Each ball should weigh 1/4 oz or be approximately a rounded 1/2 teaspoon in size. When you have portioned the desired number of balls you wish to make (I portion all at once, which takes a bit of time, but which passes quickly with a good podcast streaming in the background), chill the balls in the refrigerator until firm (at least one hour). Wrap the remaining dough and store in the refrigerator until ready to use again.
3. Meanwhile, slowly melt the chocolate (estimate how much you will need) in the bowl of a double boiler. When the balls are firm, remove only a few at a time (I work with 12 at one time). When the chocolate is melted, whisk until smooth and turn off the heat. Drop a ball into the chocolate, move gently around with a fork, and when completely coated remove ball with a toothpick. Gently lower ball into paper petit fours wrapper and gently twist the toothpick–it should ease out slowly. This process will take a little bit of trial and error, but you will eventually develop a method that works for you. Don’t worry if there is a little blemish revealing some peanut butter on the top of the ball. You can fix that at the end by spooning tiny tiny amount of chocolate over the holes to touch up the open spots.
4. When the 12 balls are coated and in the paper cups, sprinkle a tiny amount of Fleur de Sel on top of each peanut butter ball. Chill balls in freezer for 5 minutes to firm. Transfer to a stationary box (I ordered mine on-line), wrap, give and enjoy!

• Prep Time: 60 minutes
• Cook Time: 5 minutes
• Category: Cookie/Candy
• Method: No-bake
• Cuisine: American