Grammy's Recipe Book Desserts

Chocolate Peanut Butter Balls

a big batch

Prep
2 hr
Cook
5 min
Rest
30 minlet the chocolate set
Total
2 hr 35 minstart to eating

Times are our estimates for Grammy's recipe, with unhurried prep.

Grammy's handwritten page for Chocolate Peanut Butter Balls
Page 18 · full size

As written

Word for word from her page, with her spelling and line breaks. [?] marks a word we couldn't read.

Chocolate Peanut butter Balls

3 lbs powdered sugar
2 lbs creamy peanut butter
1 lb butter - room temp

Beat together - form into balls
dip into chocolate. semi sweet

Grammy's recipe

Her recipe, typed out to cook from: her amounts and her words, with abbreviations spelled out and the steps numbered.

Ingredients

  • 3 pounds powdered sugar
  • 2 pounds creamy peanut butter
  • 1 pound butter, at room temperature
  • Semisweet chocolate, melted, for dipping

Method

  1. Beat the sugar, peanut butter and butter together.
  2. Form into balls.
  3. Dip into melted semisweet chocolate.

Modernized

A present-day cookbook version, with missing steps filled in. These are suggestions, not her words.

Ingredients

About 5 dozen (a third of her batch)

  • 1 pound (about 4 cups) powdered sugar
  • 1⅓ cups (about 11 ounces) creamy peanut butter
  • ⅔ cup (about 1⅓ sticks) butter, at room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • ¼ teaspoon salt

Coating

  • 12 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped, or chips
  • 1 teaspoon coconut oil or shortening

Method

  1. Beat the peanut butter, butter, vanilla and salt until smooth, then beat in the powdered sugar until it forms a dough.
  2. Roll into 1-inch balls and set them on a parchment-lined sheet. Chill or freeze 30 minutes until firm.
  3. Melt the chocolate with the coconut oil in short microwave bursts, stirring until smooth.
  4. Dip each ball on a toothpick or fork, letting the excess drip off, and set it back on the parchment.
  5. Chill until set. Keep refrigerated, or freeze for up to 2 months.

Ideas to play with

Twists and variations to try. Suggestions, not hers.

  • Buckeyes

    Leave the top of each ball undipped so it looks like a buckeye.

  • Crispy

    Mix 1 cup crisp rice cereal into the dough for crunch.

  • Holiday sprinkles

    Top with sprinkles or a pinch of flaky salt before the chocolate sets.

  • Bars

    Press the dough into a lined 9×13 pan, pour the chocolate over, chill and cut into squares. There’s no rolling.