If you need an extra something for your holiday cookie tray, look no further than these Easy Peanut Butter Balls! Only a few pantry ingredients and SO tasty!
Before you know it, December will be here and I need to be planning my annual Christmas cookie trays for my neighbors and friends.
I usually have a couple different cookies, a candy or truffle, and maybe bar of some kind. This year I may scale it down some since I was diagnosed with my autoimmune illness, but overall I still want them to be spectacular, and one way to do that is to include these Peanut Butter Balls!
If you LOVE peanut butter, you’re going to want to bookmark this recipe!
Peanut Butter Balls
Peanut Butter Balls have only a few simple pantry ingredients and they come together quickly, so this is officially one of the easiest recipes you’ll have on hand for holiday gatherings, parties or cookie trays. Plus, you can easily double it which makes it great for big events.
The ingredients you’ll need are:
- Peanut Butter! I recommend using a traditional no-stir kind, like the classic JIF or Skippy. Oily ones you have to stir to combine are too liquid-y and prone to separation which may cause the truffles to lose their shape and weep.
- Butter: I use unsalted, softened butter – it adds flavor and structure to the truffles.
- Vanilla extract: for flavor, of course!
- Powdered sugar: this is basically the binding ingredient that will hold everything together and turn it from a gloopy mess into a coherent truffle consistency!
- Chocolate candy coating: also known as almond bark, chocolate candy coating or chocolate melting wafers – this has a higher melting point and is less prone to seizing, so it is ideal for dipping things like truffles. You can find it at any grocer nowadays by brands like CandiQuik, Loghouse Foods, or Ghirardelli.
You’ll simply combine the peanut butter, softened butter, and vanilla together in the bowl of a stand mixer until nice and combined. Then add in your powdered sugar until the mixture gets some more structure. Using a cookie dough scoop, you’ll drop heaping Tablespoonfuls out into your palm and roll them into neat little balls and place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Freeze them for a hot sec to firm up, then dip them in the melted chocolate coating.
Et voila! The easiest Peanut Butter Balls like ever.
Peanut Butter Balls
These Peanut Butter Balls taste SO amazing, but no one will know how seriously EASY they are to make! With only a few pantry ingredients, you can make these at home in under 1 hour.
Servings: 30 balls
Ingredients
- 1 cup creamy no-stir peanut butter (such as Skippy or JIF; see Note)
- 6 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups powdered (confectioners’) sugar
- 1 pkg (16oz) chocolate candy coating (such as Candiquik or chocolate almond bark)
Instructions
Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the peanut butter, butter and vanilla extract with the paddle attachment until just combined and smooth, about 1 minute. Add in the confectioners’ sugar and mix on low speed until combined and a soft dough has come together.
Using a Tablespoon-size cookie dough scoop, portion out Tablespoon-size balls of dough. Roll them one at a time in your hands to smooth out and place on the prepared baking sheet. Freeze until firm, about 10-20 minutes.
Meanwhile, melt the candy coating according to package directions or until smooth and melted. Dip a truffle into the chocolate candy coating one at a time and use a fork to lift it out of the chocolate mixture and allow excess chocolate to drip off. Return the truffle to the parchment-lined baking sheet and repeat with remaining truffles. If you have any leftover chocolate, spoon it into a small ziploc baggy, snip off a corner of the baggy and drizzle it over the truffles. Allow the chocolate coating to set before serving.
Notes
I recommend using a classic, no-stir peanut butter such as JIF or Skippy for this recipe. These are not as oily and are perfect for this recipe. A natural peanut butter that requires stirring is far too oily and will likely cause the truffles to weep or not hold their shape well.
Peanut buttery, chocolaty, and so delicious – you’re going to absolutely LOVE these!!
Craving more chocolate and peanut butter?! Check out this recipe…
Have a super sweet day!
xo, Hayley
