Dorothy Kern
Homemade peanut butter balls taste like peanut butter cups but so much better! This is an easy candy recipe that you can make with just a few simple ingredients and a microwave.
If you’re a peanut butter chocolate fan or you love Buckeyes, you have got to give these a try.
I have another really easy candy recipe for you today – peanut butter balls! These are like buckeyes but so much better, and they taste just like a peanut butter cup.
Sometimes, people get intimated by candy recipes because they assume they need special equipment or advanced skills to make homemade candy. These no-bake peanut butter balls are about the least intimidating candy recipe ever – they’re practically fool-proof!
The Best Peanut Butter Balls Recipe
- This recipe is easy – five ingredients easy!
- You don’t need a candy thermometer or an advanced degree in dessert making – all you need are a few bowls, a baking dish, and a microwave.
- They taste like Reese’s peanut butter cup but better because they’re homemade. The magic is in the peanut butter filling – it has a very similar texture and flavor.
- I’m sharing my best tips for making, dipping, and storing these sweet treats. They are freezer-friendly and also keep well for five days at room temperature. Perfect for gifting!
They taste like decadent peanut butter truffles – no one will ever guess how easy they are to make. Don’t worry – I won’t tell if you don’t!
Table of Contents
Ingredients
You only need 5 ingredients to make these peanut butter truffles!
- Peanut Butter: I use creamy peanut butter
- Butter: I use unsalted but you can use salted if it’s all you have
- Powdered sugar: for sweetness and binding
- Vanilla: for flavor
- Melting chocolate: Ghiradelli Candy Melts or Candiquik are the two best tasting you can buy at the grocery store.
How to Make Peanut Butter Balls
Mix: Cream the peanut butter and butter in a mixing bowl. Slowly add the powdered sugar while mixing on low until the mixture is well combined. Add the vanilla and mix again.
Roll and Chill: Line a cookie sheet with wax paper and lightly coat it with cooking spray. Scoop one teaspoon of the peanut butter mixture to form each ball. Chill the balls for 20 minutes or until they harden.
Melt: Melt the chocolate following the package instruction. Most likely, you can do this in the microwave in 30 seconds or so.
Dip: Use a toothpick to dip each peanut butter ball in the melted chocolate, coating it evenly on all sides. Get all my best tips for dipping!
Set: Place all of the dipped balls back on the cookie sheet and leave them to set. Once the chocolate has hardened, they are ready to serve.
Store: Keep them in an airtight container, and they will keep for five days in the refrigerator.
Best Chocolate for Peanut Butter Truffles
There are lots of chocolates out there you can use to roll truffles in but here is what I recommend using:
Ghiradelli Candy Melts: find these in the baking aisle. They come in chocolate or white chocolate and they taste the best out of all of the melting chocolate.
Candiquik: find it in the baking aisle. It’s chocolate made for melting and comes in a block. This is similar to almond bark but tastes better.
Baking Chocolate: you can also use semi-sweet baking chocolate bars but that gets really expensive!
Recipe Variations
You can easily switch this recipe up to make it your own – feel free to experiment!
Chocolate: Use white chocolate, dark chocolate, or milk chocolate – they all work great! I recommend sticking with candy melts, Candiquik, almond bark, or even bars of baking chocolate for the best results. Avoid chocolate chips – they don’t melt as well!
Decorations: Sometimes, I add some sprinkles before the chocolate sets. This is great for holidays, so think red and white for Valentine’s day, red and green for Christmas, pastel sprinkles for Easter… you get the idea!
FAQ
Can I make homemade Reese’s peanut butter cups instead of balls?
You can make adorable mini peanut butter cups with this recipe, too! Lightly coat mini liners with cookie spray and coat the bottom with a layer of chocolate. Add a peanut butter ball and flatten it. Cover it with more chocolate, and then leave them to sit at room temperature until they’re set.
Can you use melted chocolate chips?
I don’t recommend using chocolate chips for this recipe. You need a really smooth and dippable melted chocolate. Chips are thicker when melted, making it hard to dip and coat the peanut butter balls evenly. So use melting chocolate for the best results!
Can you use chunky peanut butter?
Yes, if you want to make crunchy peanut balls substitute the same amount of chunky peanut butter for the smooth kind.
Can you freeze peanut butter balls?
Yes, you can freeze them. It works best to layer them in a container with wax paper between each layer so they don’t stick together. Thaw them in the refrigerator or at room temperature.
Peanut butter balls are fun to make for the holidays because they keep well and are perfect for gifting, but not going to lie – I make them all year round! They’re fun to make and, hello, chocolate and peanut butter are perfect any time of year. Enjoy!
Other Favorite Candy
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Peanut Butter Balls Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup creamy peanut butter
- 6 tablespoons butter
- 2 3/4 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 package 10 ounces Chocolate melting chocolate (such as Ghiradelli or Candiquik)
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl, cream the peanut butter and butter together with a hand mixer.
- Slowly add the powdered sugar until well combined. Add the vanilla.
- Line a large cookie sheet with wax paper and spray with nonstick spray.
- Scoop a teaspoon of the peanut butter mixture and roll into a ball. Place on the cookie sheet. Continue until all the peanut butter mixture is gone.
- Refrigerate for 20 minutes until hardened.
- In a microwave safe bowl, melt the melting wafers for 30 seconds. Stir and if not completely melted add for an additional 10 seconds, stir and repeat as necessary. (Refer to package directions for melting instructions as well.)
- Remove the peanut butter balls from the refrigerator. Using a toothpick, dip one ball at a time into the chocolate until covered. Place back on the lined cookie sheet. Let harden completely before serving.
- Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator up to 5 days.
Nutrition Information
Nutritional information not guaranteed to be accurate
These EASY Peanut Butter Balls are chocolate covered like buckeyes but better – and they’re done in no time at all! This candy recipe is no bake and tastes like a peanut butter cup – use your favorite kind of chocolate too!
All text and images © DOROTHY KERN for Crazy for Crust. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If you want to republish this recipe, please re-write the recipe in your own words, or link back to this post for the recipe. Disclaimer: Nutrition information shown is not guaranteed to be accurate.
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Published on: December 3, 2020
Wanted to replace my buckeye recipe (had paraffin wax & more sugar!). Couldn’t find melting chocolate (Covid lockdown here) so used dark chocolate chips. Added ~1 1/2 tsp of coconut oil to the chips when melting to thin the chocolate (could have added a little more). Very tasty result! (chocolate has faint coconut taste, which I like, but could add vegetable oil instead).
Break up rice krispy treats and mix in the batter, Sticky but double delish.
These were so delicious and I will definitely be making them again! Thank you for this wonderful recipe!