Peanut Butter Balls

This is a classic for me as I've made them so many times. ;) Fabulous, easy to make candy from an old Wilton Candy book. Usually I tinker extensively with recipes but this one was good as is. If you don't feel the urge to dip things in chocolate you can easily spread the peanut butter mixture out in a 9x13 pan and top with a layer of melted milk chocolate instead.



Peanut Butter Balls

2 cups peanut butter
3/4 cup butter
3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
3 cups crispy rice cereal
1 1/2 bags milk chocolate (thinned with 1 tbls or so shortening)*

Melt peanut butter and butter together in saucepan. Remove from heat when smooth. Mix in powdered sugar. Knead in cereal. Form into rounds and chill for a couple hours. Dip in chocolate and chill again.




*I melt my chocolate in the microwave. It's quick and easy you just have to be careful to stir often at short intervals. (You don't have to thin your chocolate with shortening but it would take a ton of chocolate to cover your candy centers if you go that route.) A nice thin stream of chocolate and a light coating on the spoon marks the right texture for me. The chocolate will coat your chilled centers oh so nicely when you drop them in. A fork works fine to dip with though you do have to make sure to shake off the extra chocolate before you move your covered peanut butter ball to the waxed paper....you don't want your candy sitting in a pool of chocolate as it cools....though I can be lazy at this step at times. ;)

A looksee at the centers before dipping....

They aren't perfectly round and really don't need to be. Chocolate covers up imperfections nicely. Plus to garnish in the end.....and also disguise any little issues that crop up....take a fork and your remaining melted chocolate and drizzle/flick stripes across the top of the balls. Make sure you've given them a few minutes to set up a bit so your stripes don't sink into the first coating of chocolate. (You can also use a pastry or ziplock bag with an opening cut in it to do this step.) If you want a change of pace you can melt white chocolate or dark chocolate to do the garnish.