Sunday, April 24, 2011

Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter Balls - A Love Story

When I went home earlier this month to visit my parents, I rediscovered something from my childhood that I absolutely loved: homemade chocolate-covered peanut butter eggs. One bite, and I was in heaven. It took me back to the days when I didn't have a care in the world.

When I got home to Atlanta, I decided that I would make these delightful eggs for myself, and thus began the quest for the perfect Peanut Butter egg recipe. Little did I know that my own dear grandmother (may she rest in peace) used to make these eggs for her kids - for some reason she never made them for my generation, her grandchildren, but I'll let that one slide. So, a special thank you to my Aunt Cindy for sharing Grandma's recipe with me. I'll be sure to pass it on!

If you want to make these for yourself, here's what you need:



  • 2 pounds of powdered sugar (10x)

  • 1 cup peanut butter - I prefer Jif, but use your favorite brand

  • 2 cups marshmallow creme

  • 1/4 pound margarine (1 stick)

  • a smidge of milk, if the mixture gets too dry - I had to use a little bit because the dough, or batter, was getting too hard to mix together

  • chocolate to melt for dipping - I used milk chocolate chips, but you can use semi-sweet or dark. Whatever you prefer.


Mix ingredients together, kind of like pie crust. I ended up having to use my hands because it really was doughy, and I had to knead it in order to get it all mixed together. I think next time I'll try my stand mixer and let it do the dirty work. If it just gets too thick to mix together, that's where the milk comes in. Just add a little at a time until everything is mixed together nicely.

Instead of shaping the dough/batter/mixture into egg shapes, I just rolled them into balls. After all that kneading, I was ready for something quick and easy, so rolling the balls fit the bill. At this point it's best to put the rolled balls in the fridge to set for at least an hour. Try to hold out, it's worth it! Some recommend letting them sit over night in the fridge, but I just can't wait that long.


Once everything is nice and firm, it's time to dip them in chocolate! I used my handy dandy little Wilton Chocolate Pro to melt the milk chocolate chips. Of course you can also melt the chocolate in the microwave or crockpot. I think a crockpot would be nice and easy, since it will keep the chocolate melted until you're finished.


Use a skewer or a fork to stab each ball and roll it in the melted chocolate, making sure it's covered entirely.




Plop the chocolate covered goodies onto wax paper to set, cover the holes with more chocolate, and you're finished!




I could barely stand to let them set as long as they needed to, so I put the first batch in the fridge until the chocolate wasn't so gooey. The second batch I'm just letting sit out overnight to see how that works.


When the chocolate is set, grab one and dig in!



So yummy - enjoy!


The next time I make them, I'm going to add a little more peanut butter, just because I love peanut butter. I'm a Reese's Peanut Butter Egg addict, but I really think these give the Reese's eggs a real run for the money!




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4 comments:

Unknown said...

Hi Shannon
So nice of you to stop by! Congrats on blogging so frequently your recipes look so yummy.
Terri

Mandy said...

Wow those sound amazing!

shannon said...

Thanks Mandy! You should try them..they are are little bit amazing, if I do say so myself. :)

Hi Terri! Thanks for popping in!

Erin said...

These sound so darn good! I've never had them with marshmallow cream too. I'm so going to make these! Thanks!!!