Chocolate Peanut Butter Balls

Creamy old-fashioned Peanut Butter Balls dipped in chocolate are simply irresistible! Made with four simple pantry staples, this easy no-bake, gluten-free, kid-friendly recipe is perfect for food gifts, dessert bars, and holiday parties.

Peanut butter balls are a holiday staple at our house. These heavenly chocolate and peanut butter bites taste like a Reese’s peanut butter cup, only creamier (like a peanut butter truffle). Homemade peanut butter balls are one of the easiest candies you can make, too: perfect for holiday memory making with the kiddos!

Jump to:

• Peanut Butter Balls Ingredients
• How to Make Chocolate Peanut Butter Balls
• Variations
• Equipment
• Storage
• Top Tip: How to Avoid Seized Chocolate
• FAQ
• More Holiday Sweets
• Chocolate Peanut Butter Balls

Peanut Butter Balls Ingredients

This old-fashioned peanut butter ball recipe doesn’t contain any fillers like Rice Krispies or graham crackers. All you need is four simple pantry staples, plus dipping chocolate!

Peanut Butter Centers

• Peanut Butter: We like to use creamy peanut butter (specifically, Jif or Skippy), but if crunchy peanut butter is your jam, go for it!  
  • We do not recommend using “natural” peanut butter (i.e., Adam’s, etc.) for this recipe. Natural peanut butter can be too oily, making the peanut butter balls too soft to hold their shape. 
• Butter: The most important thing about the butter is that it be room temperature so that it can be easily worked into the peanut butter dough. We use salted butter, but unsalted also works fine.
• Powdered sugar: ((i.e., confectioner’s sugar, icing sugar) This works as both a sweetener and a binder. You may need more of it to attain the right dough consistency, depending on the type of peanut butter you use and the weather (i.e., humidity, temperature).
• Corn syrup: We use Karo Light Corn Syrup for this candy recipe. Corn syrup helps to keep the peanut butter centers smooth and supple. (We have not experimented with alternatives. Make substitutions at your own risk.)
  • Karo Light Corn Syrup contains no high fructose corn syrup.

Dipping Chocolate

Ghirardelli Melting Chocolate Wafers are my personal favorite for dipping small batch homemade candies. Ghirardelli wafers have a delicious flavor with no waxy undertones, they melt smoothly and set up firmly, and we've never had a problem with the chocolate seizing. Not only that, but you can remelt them with no issues.

You can use any kind of chocolate or other flavored candy melt you like to dip these peanut butter balls: white chocolate, milk chocolate, pink chocolate, blue chocolate. (Our favorite is a 50/50 combo of milk and dark Ghirardelli wafers.)

Almond Bark is another dependable option. You can usually find it in the baking aisle at your local grocery store.

You can often buy large quantities of quality dipping chocolate directly from cake and candy making specialty supply shop.

How to Make Chocolate Peanut Butter Balls

Peanut Butter Centers

Place the peanut butter, powdered sugar, softened butter, and corn syrup in a medium mixing bowl.

Use a mixing spoon to stir until all the ingredients are combined, and then turn the mixture out onto the counter and knead with dry hands until it is the consistency of fresh Play-doh. The finished peanut butter dough should be soft, but not sticky.

If the dough seems too sticky, knead in a little more powdered sugar until it is smooth. (Don’t add too much, or your peanut butter balls will be dry.)

Form the peanut butter dough into a flat round, cover with plastic wrap, and chill for about an hour in the refrigerator.

Using a teaspoon to divide off small pieces, roll the dough into ¾-inch balls (about 7-8 grams, or 1 ½ teaspoons). Made this size, one batch will make about 80 peanut butter balls.

HINT: Size is a personal choice. If you want to make your peanut butter balls bigger, go for it!

Place each ball on a parchment-lined baking tray. When all the balls are rolled, put the tray in the freezer and chill the peanut butter balls for 15-20 minutes before dipping. Do not exceed 30 minutes, or they may expand after dipping and your chocolates will crack.

Melting Chocolate

You can melt the dipping chocolate in a double boiler, in the microwave, or in a fondue pot. Read the dipping chocolate package directions for tips and directions. Remember to cook Low  and Slow!

To prevent air bubbles in the finished dipped chocolates, avoid stirring air into the chocolate as it melts. Stir slowly, and only as necessary, using a smooth, circular motion.

➤ Double Boiler: (This is the safest method for melting chocolate to avoid seizing.) Fill the bottom of a double boiler with about 1 inch of water and bring it to a low simmer over medium heat. Reduce the heat to low and place the top of the double boiler or a heat-proof bowl on top of barely simmering water. The indirect heat from the steam will heat the bowl and gently melt the chocolate.

IMPORTANT: The water in a double boiler should never touch the bottom of the bowl.

➤ Microwave: Use a plastic microwave-safe container; glass can get too hot for the chocolate. Set the power to 50% - 70% (max). Place the dipping chocolate in a microwave safe bowl and melt the chocolate for 30 seconds at a time, stirring between each interval. 

➤ Electric Fondue Pot: This is the method we use; if you have an electric fondue pot, it is the way to go. Set the fondue pot on its lowest setting. Stir the chocolate occasionally with a non-reactive metal spoon.

Dipping

When the dipping chocolate is melted, use a toothpick to dip each chilled peanut butter ball into the chocolate, then place them on parchment to set.

When placing the dipped peanut butter balls on the parchment, it helps to twirl the toothpick slightly to release it from the candy ball. If there is a small hole left by the toothpick, simply swirl a little chocolate off the end of the toothpick to finish it off.

You can also dip the chocolates by hand (à la Lucy): this is faster, but messier. (We’ve experimented with other dipping tools, but in the case of peanut butter balls, the tools are really more trouble than they are worth.)

HINT: If it is warm in your kitchen, dip the chilled balls in batches so that they don't warm up and slump while waiting to be dipped.

Variations

Peanut Butter Cups: Form small disks with a peanut butter dough, and place them in a silicone peanut cup mold or paper candy cups. Pour melted chocolate over the top. Use a toothpick to gently lift the disk to allow the chocolate to flow underneath.

Buckeye Candy: To make Buckeyes, don’t dip the ball completely into the chocolate. Leave a small “eye” on the top of the ball when you dip it, and place it on the parchment looking up to set.

Equipment

Even chocolate designed for candy dipping can be tricky if you heat it too fast, or the temperature fluctuates too much. A double boiler is the most common (and safest) method for melting chocolate, but since I bought an electric fondue pot a while back, I now use it for all my chocolate prep. It has an adjustable temperature control that takes all the stress out of melting chocolate, and I'll never go back!

Storage

Counter: Peanut butter balls will keep in an airtight container on the counter for up to a week.

Refrigerator: Place in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to three weeks.

Freezer: Peanut butter balls freeze well. First freeze them on a parchment covered tray until hard (about an hour). This will keep them from sticking together. Transfer the frozen PB balls to an air-tight freezer container and freeze for up to 3 months.

Top Tip: How to Avoid Seized Chocolate

For silky smooth dipping chocolate, first make sure everything that touches the chocolate is as dry as possible. This includes hands, bowls, utensils, and anything else it comes in contact with. Do not use wooden utensils, as they can retain water.

Seizing happens when water – as little as a drop – is introduced to melted chocolate. One minute, it’s melting all smooth and luxurious, and the next minute, it’s a thick, clumpy mess. Seized chocolate can often be fixed, but the best thing to do is avoid the problem altogether.

Seized chocolate also occurs when you melt the chocolate at too high a temperature. For the best outcomes, melt chocolate low and slow, and be patient.

FAQ

More Holiday Sweets

Check our Chocolate Covered Cherries and Bavarian Mints recipes for more homemade candy dipping tips and ideas.

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