Crispy Peanut Butter Balls |
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Prep Time: 0 Minutes Cook Time: 5 Minutes |
Ready In: 5 Minutes Servings: 120 |
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Ahhhhhhh - the last of the holiday baking traditions is done...these have to be on the cookie tray before we can say Finished! . I've been making these since a co-worker in Missouri gave me the recipe in the '70's. Read more . Recently I found the trick to keeping the crispy cereal crisp once the balls are rolled and dipped - keep them in the refrigerator (took me a long time to learn THAT simple trick!). When left out at room temperature, the cereal inside the dipped balls will soon become moist and lose their crispness. Keeping them refrigerated until ready to serve will assure you fantastic crunch every time! Ingredients:
2 sticks butter, softened |
2 cups creamy peanut butter |
33/4 cups powdered sugar |
3 cups rice krispies cereal |
2 (8 ounce) large hershey candy bars (i have always ended up using at least twice this amount, perhaps because i like to make the balls a single bite size, so i get well over 100 from a recipe. it you make a large ball, you will not need as much dipping chocolate) |
Directions:
1. In a large bowl, blend together butter, peanut butter and sugar until smooth.
2. Fold in cereal, stirring as little as possible, to prevent cereal from being crushed too much.
3. Roll batter into 3/4” to 1” balls, and place on waxed paper – I prefer to make them small enough so you can pop a whole one in your mouth.
4. Melt candy bars (I break bars up into pieces and microwave until melted – you must be very careful not to overcook, or chocolate will turn into a grainy mess. Stir after the first minute of cooking on High, then keep stirring every 15 seconds until all is melted).
5. I use 2 forks to dip the peanut butter balls in the chocolate, dipping one at a time. HINT - the chocolate will adhere much better, with less mess and dripping, if you freeze the balls before dipping them - then take out about a dozen at a time to dip. When the warm melted chocolate meets the frozen peanut butter ball, the chocolate will harden around it much quicker.
6. Place the ball into the chocolate and roll it around to coat, using the forks to push it around.
7. Place one fork underneath the dipped ball and lift it out of the chocolate, using the other fork to run across the bottom of the fork holding the peanut butter ball, scraping away the excess chocolate as it runs off.
8. Drop the ball onto waxed paper; repeat until all balls are dipped (you may need more chocolate – it all depends on how much chocolate you let drip off the ball as you balance it on the fork).
9. Let balls set, to allow chocolate to harden again, before storing them in a covered container, with wax paper between layers.
10. The rice crispy cereal in these tends to get “soggy’ if left out at room temperature, so I store mine in a covered container in the refrigerator, taking them out just before serving.
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