Peanut Butter Balls

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It’s the middle of November and for me, that means the beginning of some serious holiday baking and candy makin’! The smells, the textures, the colors and tastes…it’s an art form I tell you! My most favorite thing to make is chocolate covered peanut butter balls. One, because it’s the most requested thing from my extended family and two, because – well – I’m sure I don’t have to tell you that they’re just the best things EVER! I always end up making a couple of batches for both sides of the family and there’s never any left over.

I made up a quick shopping list and ran to Walmart to gather my goodies. When I do my baking and candy making, I always ALWAYS use real Land O’ Lakes stick butter. It’s just the creamiest and the dreamiest! Now they make packages with Land O’ Lakes Half Sticks which are 1/4 cup instead of 1/2 cup. That’s really convenient this time of year!! I double checked my list twice to make sure I wasn’t forgetting anything else.

The process of making the peanut butter balls is a fun one. From making the dough to dipping them in the warm melted chocolate…yum. I thought it would be pretty cool to do something a little different this year and make peanut butter ball pops! Everything is tastier when it’s on a stick, right?!

These are just so much fun that I wanted to share the recipe with you!! I hope you enjoy them as much as we do! Please leave us a comment and let us know what you and yours thought!! This recipe makes about 5 and 1/2 dozen give or take, depending on how big or small you roll the balls.

Peanut Butter Ball Pops with Land O’ Lakes #HolidayButter

Author: Jenni

Ingredients

2 cups creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup cold Land O’ Lakes butter, cubed
4 cups confectioners’ sugar (powdered sugar)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla flavoring or extract
4 cups (24 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup shortening
paper straws or skewers

Instructions

Peanut Butter Ball Dough instructions:
Combine powdered sugar, peanut butter, butter and vanilla into a uniform dough. It’s easier to mix with your hands. *If it’s too dry, add more butter. If it’s too wet, add a bit more powdered sugar. You want the consistency of dry fudge so it holds together well when you roll into balls.
Place bowl of dough into the freezer until it’s firm enough to roll into balls.
After it’s firmed up, begin rolling the dough into 1 inch balls (give or take) and place each one on a baking sheet lined with wax paper or foil. Place a straw/skewer into each one.
After all the balls are formed, place back into the freezer to chill again.
Chocolate Dipping Instructions:
Melt the chocolate chips either in the microwave as per the instructions on the bag or use a double boiler. Make sure to use microwaving instructions on the bag because chocolate tends to get too hot very fast and will clump into a mess if you’re not careful.
After chocolate has melted, add the shortening to keep thinned out. Stir until combined.
Once chocolate is thin enough, pick each one up by the straw/skewer and dip the peanut butter balls. Let the excess chocolate drip off and place each one back onto the baking sheet to dry.
Allow them to sit in room temperature to dry thoroughly or you can place them in the refrigerator until set.

Make sure to follow Land O’ Lakes for fun Holiday goodies @landolakesktchn on Twitter and also, be sure to check out their Holiday Gift Giving brochure. It’s full of yummy buttery recipes!!

You know that one little sweet treat that you only get, like once a year?! Well, for me…that happens to be the glorious Peanut Butter Balls. My cousin Della, always makes the best peanut butter balls known to man and so I had to swipe the recipe from her and share. Thanks Della, and I love you!! I’ve also made these super fun Peanut Butter Ball Pops (<– click to see post). Same idea, just with a twist.

If you’ve never had these little bites of heaven you’re truly missing out. You can’t eat them and sit still at the same time. They are a little tedious and time consuming to make but ohhh, the reward is sooo worth it! I made a double batch of these at Christmas and took to my sisters’ house and within like 20 minutes they were gone.

My nephew, Chance, was waiting like a tiger ready to pounce on his prey when I came through the door. Little did anyone know, Eli (my 6 year old) had a few of them on the way in the car. He couldn’t keep his sticky little fingers out of them 😉 I hope you enjoy them as much as we do!!

Peanut Butter Balls Ingredients:

2 cups creamy peanut butter (I use Jif)
1/2 cup butter, cubed
4 cups confectioners’ sugar (powdered sugar)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla flavoring or extract
4 cups (24 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup shortening

(I made a double batch and had to use a roasting pan to mix it all up because I couldn’t fit it all into a large mixing bowl.)

Directions:

In a large mixing bowl – combine powdered sugar, peanut butter, butter, and vanilla. I prefer to use my hands to mix it all up and you can wear rubber gloves if you prefer because it does get messy. Mix together until everything is combined and you have a nice uniform dough. If it’s too dry, a little more peanut butter or butter. If it’s too moist, add a little more powdered sugar. You want it about the consistency of dry fudge. Place the bowl in the freezer until it’s firm enough to roll into balls.

Once it’s nice and firm, begin rolling the dough into 1 inch balls (give or take) and place on a wax paper or aluminum foil lined baking sheet. After they’ve all been rolled, stick the pan(s) into the freezer to chill again.

Melting the Chocolate for Dipping:

*You can either use the microwave directions on the package of chocolate chips or use a double boiler. Usually – microwave directions will tell you to microwave in increments of 30 seconds. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED – because chocolate easily gets too hot and then it will only clump into a nasty mess.

Add chocolate chips and shortening to a large bowl or double boiler to melt. Once chocolate is thin enough to start dipping, use a toothpick to dip the peanut butter balls into the chocolate. Let the excess chocolate drip off and place each one back onto the baking sheet. Allow them to sit in room temperature to dry thoroughly or you can place them in the refrigerator until set.

Yield: about 5 1/2 dozen.

If you’d like some more awesome recipes, check out my recipe box!! Here are some reader favorites:

Peanut Butter Ball Pops with Land O’ Lakes

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