Peanut Butter Balls (Christmas Recipe)

These no bake peanut butter balls are the perfect salty sweet snack! You only need a few simple ingredients, they are easy to whip up, and every bite is pure peanut butter bliss.

Add a few festive sprinkles and you have the perfect treat for the holiday season. They can be made ahead of time, they are easy to transport, and people just gobble them up!

As a peanut butter lover, I’m a big fan of Reese’s peanut butter cups. These are even better! The filling is extra smooth and creamy, has so much peanut butter flavor.

And using real chocolate makes them so much richer instead of overly sweet. My favorite is to use half milk and half semi sweet chocolate. Delish!

How to make :

1. Peanut Butter Filling – Mix together the soft butter and peanut butter in a mixing bowl. Add the powdered sugar, vanilla, and salt. Mix until soft and crumbly.
2. Form – Chill until firm enough to roll. Use a small cookie scoop to portion the peanut butter dough; roll into 1-inch balls or smaller. Chill while you melt the chocolate.
3. Chocolate Coating – Place the chocolate in a glass bowl, and melt at half power, stirring in 30 second intervals until smooth. (If you are using chocolate chips, melt the coconut oil in the bowl first.)
4. Dip – Submerge the balls one at a time into the melted chocolate. Tap off the excess chocolate, then place the dipped balls on silicone mats or parchment paper.
5. Decorate – If you want sprinkles, you need to add them pretty quickly after dipping. The chocolate sets up pretty fast.

You can store these old-fashioned peanut butter balls in an airtight container at room temperature for a few days, or in the refrigerator for a few weeks. I recommend placing wax paper or parchment paper between layers.

What to do with leftover melted chocolate?

There is always a little bit of chocolate left over after you dip the peanut butter balls (or any candy for that matter). The easiest way to use it up is to simply stir in some toasted almonds, peanuts, cashews, or any combination of nuts.

Spoon them onto silicone mats and let them set up for the best nut clusters ever!

PRO TIPS:

• If you use unsalted butter, add a generous pinch of salt to the filling.
• Make sure you chill the balls before dipping. This not only helps them hold their shape, it helps the chocolate set up in just minutes.
• Because you are using very few ingredients, quality matters. A good quality chocolate bar may be a little thicker than candy melts for dipping, but the flavor is so much better!
• Never let water get into your melted chocolate, it will seize up. If it’s too thick, reheat it for a few seconds, or add some oil.

VARIATIONS:

• I actually love adding 1/2 cup of finely crushed graham cracker crumbs. They add a great crunch and flavor.
• You can also try dipping the peanut butter balls in almond bark or melted white chocolate bars. I find them too sweet with white chocolate, but my kids love them.
• If you want to use crunchy peanut butter, add an additional 1/4-1/3 cup or the filling will be too crumbly.
• Instead of sprinkles, try drizzling the tops of the balls with melted chocolate. I like to use contrasting colors. So for milk chocolate peanut butter balls, I use dark chocolate drizzle, and vice versa.

MORE NO BAKE TREATS:

• Rice Crispy Peanut Butter Balls 
• Buckeye Balls
• Chocolate Peanut Butter Truffles
• No Bake Peanut Butter Bars
• Homemade Toffee
• Peanut Butter Cornflake Candy
• No Bake Cookies with Chocolate Chips
• Turtle Candy Recipe

 This chocolate peanut butter balls recipe only calls for 5 ingredients, but they taste absolutely incredible! We love them any time of year, but they are always a holiday favorite. 🙂