Pud's Peanut Butter Balls
Here is a step by step guide to making my famous peanut butter balls. I don't share this recipe around too much, but I've been making these bad boys the exact same way for more than 20 years now. I usually only make them once a year around Christmas, but those who know me have been lucky because this is my third batch.
I will warn you ahead of time they're a little messy to make and they are a major time commitment, but OMG are they ever so good.
What you will need:
1 28-oz jar of peanut butter
1 stick butter, melted
1 tsp vanilla
dash of salt
1 box confectioner's sugar
1/4 block of paraffin wax, grated
24-oz chocolate chips
Combine butter, peanut butter, vanilla and salt until well combined. It will be gloopy.
Didn't I say it'd be gloopy? It's also rather gross looking, but we're about to fix that. It smells good though.
Add 1 cup of confectioner's sugar at the time to the mixture, thoroughly incorporating after each addition until the mixture becomes thickened. It takes roughly 2.5 to 3 cups of the sugar to reach this desired effect.
See, no longer gloopy! It's about the consistency of paste. You want it stiff enough to roll into balls otherwise it sticks to your hands when you try to roll it and that becomes a giant mess. Once you've made these a few times you'll be able to eyeball the consistency.
Now with hands coated in the sugar, form the peanut butter mixture into balls. The general rule is 3/4 to 1 inch balls. As you can see, I'm not about perfection, but if that is your thing go for it.
Now pop those naked peanut butter balls into the freezer for an hour or the fridge for 2 hours or more. Cover if you want to refrigerate them overnight. You want the balls to be very firm when you get to the chocolate dipping.
When it is time to prepare the chocolate start with grating the wax.
I like to grate my wax with a microplane grater to quicker melting.
I guess by now you've noticed I'm using a glass bowl. I always use a tall glass bowl and 5 quart dutch oven filled 1/4 way with water as a double boiler. Glass is naturally non-stick for easier clean up of the melted chocolate. This is imperative these days since I no longer have a dishwasher.
Melt chocolate and wax over low heat until smooth as seen above. Now you're ready for dipping.
Throw in one naked peanut butter ball at the time, giving it a quick toss in the chocolate to coat it. Don't linger or else the peanut butter melts and makes the chocolate icky. Remove to wax paper covered pans. Repeat until chocolate or peanut butter mixture is exhausted.
Now pop the pans into the fridge for an hour or so to set the chocolate. Remove from wax paper once the chocolate has hardened and store in an air-tight container in the refrigerator. These peanut butter balls are best cold.
I ended up with a 9x13 container full :)
I dare you to eat just one. Dare you.
Additional notes:
Creamy peanut butter works just as well with this recipe. I just like the texture and flavor of Jif Extra Crunchy.
The chocolate is your choice as well. I prefer semi-sweet chips, but feel free to use milk or dark chocolate chips. The amount remains the same. Also, the chocolate/wax ratio works for anything you want to dip be it pretzels, cookies, marshmallows, etc.
I know the wax thing is weird, but it really helps the consistency of the melted chocolate. It also helps it set quickly and makes it all pretty and shiny. You can find the wax in the canning section of any good grocery store.
I will warn you ahead of time they're a little messy to make and they are a major time commitment, but OMG are they ever so good.
What you will need:
1 28-oz jar of peanut butter
1 stick butter, melted
1 tsp vanilla
dash of salt
1 box confectioner's sugar
1/4 block of paraffin wax, grated
24-oz chocolate chips
Combine butter, peanut butter, vanilla and salt until well combined. It will be gloopy.
Didn't I say it'd be gloopy? It's also rather gross looking, but we're about to fix that. It smells good though.
Add 1 cup of confectioner's sugar at the time to the mixture, thoroughly incorporating after each addition until the mixture becomes thickened. It takes roughly 2.5 to 3 cups of the sugar to reach this desired effect.
See, no longer gloopy! It's about the consistency of paste. You want it stiff enough to roll into balls otherwise it sticks to your hands when you try to roll it and that becomes a giant mess. Once you've made these a few times you'll be able to eyeball the consistency.
Now with hands coated in the sugar, form the peanut butter mixture into balls. The general rule is 3/4 to 1 inch balls. As you can see, I'm not about perfection, but if that is your thing go for it.
Now pop those naked peanut butter balls into the freezer for an hour or the fridge for 2 hours or more. Cover if you want to refrigerate them overnight. You want the balls to be very firm when you get to the chocolate dipping.
When it is time to prepare the chocolate start with grating the wax.
I like to grate my wax with a microplane grater to quicker melting.
I guess by now you've noticed I'm using a glass bowl. I always use a tall glass bowl and 5 quart dutch oven filled 1/4 way with water as a double boiler. Glass is naturally non-stick for easier clean up of the melted chocolate. This is imperative these days since I no longer have a dishwasher.
Melt chocolate and wax over low heat until smooth as seen above. Now you're ready for dipping.
Throw in one naked peanut butter ball at the time, giving it a quick toss in the chocolate to coat it. Don't linger or else the peanut butter melts and makes the chocolate icky. Remove to wax paper covered pans. Repeat until chocolate or peanut butter mixture is exhausted.
Now pop the pans into the fridge for an hour or so to set the chocolate. Remove from wax paper once the chocolate has hardened and store in an air-tight container in the refrigerator. These peanut butter balls are best cold.
I ended up with a 9x13 container full :)
I dare you to eat just one. Dare you.
Additional notes:
Creamy peanut butter works just as well with this recipe. I just like the texture and flavor of Jif Extra Crunchy.
The chocolate is your choice as well. I prefer semi-sweet chips, but feel free to use milk or dark chocolate chips. The amount remains the same. Also, the chocolate/wax ratio works for anything you want to dip be it pretzels, cookies, marshmallows, etc.
I know the wax thing is weird, but it really helps the consistency of the melted chocolate. It also helps it set quickly and makes it all pretty and shiny. You can find the wax in the canning section of any good grocery store.