Peanut Butter Balls

Dipped in melted milk chocolate and drizzled with Reese’s Peanut Butter Chipits, these Peanut Butter Balls are a nostalgic treat! They’re a delicious confection with an airy and crispy bite from the Rice Krispies Cereal and coconut. These balls are for the serious peanut butter and chocolate lover!

Peanut Butter Balls are most likely one of my favourite Christmas cookie recipes I will share here at Lord Byron’s Kitchen this holiday season. I grew up eating these. My mom prepared them quite often, not just for the holidays. I love them not only because they’re nostalgic, but also because I absolutely love peanut butter. These are just so easy to make and so delicious!

A Newfoundland traditional sweet treat is the peanut butter ball.  It’s not something you see only at Christmas time, but it’s most definitely on most Christmas dessert tables.  When I was growing up, my mother would make peanut butter balls any time she felt like it, not just at Christmastime. I never got to have peanut butter balls too often in my early adult life, because both my daughter and my ex-wife could not stand to be near the smell of peanut butter.  Now that my daughter is older and living on her own, I can make peanut butter recipes just as often as my mom did!

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So, welcome, Dear Reader, to the start of my annual holiday-themed recipes. Traditionally, every year I share a series of recipes that you might already be familiar with. For example, I’ve previously shared 12 Holiday Trifles, 12 Holiday Bars & Squares, and even these 12 Edible Holiday Wreath recipes! Also, some of my favourite recipe collections from previous years are my 75 Homemade Gifts from Your Kitchen, my 50 Make Ahead Freezer Friendly Christmas Recipes, and my 30 No-Bake Christmas Recipes post.

This year I’m doing it differently. Rather than sharing multiple back to back series, I’m sharing a new holiday-themed recipe almost every day from now until Christmas Eve. For those of you who have followed my annual Lord Byron’s 24 Cookies of Christmas series, don’t worry, you will still get lots of new cookie recipes this year too. I will not, however, be publishing the cookies back to back in a 24-day series. This would have been my 8th year running the series and it becomes very exhausting, so this year, I’m spreading the recipes out so that I’m not sharing the same type of recipe every day.

You really don’t want to miss one of these recipes, so if you have not yet subscribed to Lord Byron’s Kitchen, I encourage you to do so. That way, a new recipe will be emailed to you every day. You won’t have to bother to come looking for it! And, just in case you’re curious, you can see previous annual posts for my 24 Cookies of Christmas Series here!

INGREDIENTS NEEDED TO PREPARE THIS RECIPE

The following is a list of the ingredients needed to prepare this recipe. For exact amounts and measurements, refer to the printable recipe card located near the bottom of this post.

• Peanut Butter – Use smooth peanut butter or the chunky kind with pieces of peanuts in it. I have not tested this recipe with natural peanut butter and to be frank, I don’t think natural peanut butter will work without some adjustments.
• Butter – I used salted butter, because I knew it would cut the sweetness just a tad. The butter will help to loosen up the peanut butter, making it easier to mix in the rest of the ingredients.
• Confectioner’s Sugar – This is what gives the balls their sweetness and creaminess. When the confectioner’s sugar is combined with something moist, like butter and peanut butter, it basically melts, which in this case, creates that creamy texture!
• Rice Krispies Cereal – Just about everyone is familiar with this. Wasn’t it, after all, the breakfast of champions in the 80s?
• Coconut – Use unsweetened coconut for this recipe.
• Milk Chocolate Chips 
• Vegetable Shortening – This is optional, but will thin out the chocolate if you want a thinner chocolate coating.
• Reese’e Peanut Butter Chipits – These are melted and drizzled over the balls, but it is completely optional.

HOW TO MAKE PEANUT BUTTER BALLS

Measure the confectioner’s sugar, Rice Krispies cereal and coconut into a large mixing bowl. Gently whisk to combine the three ingredients and set aside. Next, measure the peanut butter and butter into a saucepan. Over low heat, melt the peanut butter and butter together, stirring often to incorporate and combine. Once fully melted, remove from the heat and transfer to the bowl with the cereal and coconut. Use a rubber spatula to ensure you get all of the peanut butter mixture out of the saucepan an into the mixing bowl. Stir well to combine. Transfer the mixture to the fridge for 20 minutes to firm up.

Next, scoop one tablespoon of the mixture into the palm of your hand and roll into balls. Place the balls onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Once all of the balls are rolled, transfer the baking sheet to your fridge for two hours to firm.

Once firm, measure the milk chocolate chips and vegetable shortening into a microwave-safe bowl. (You can substitute the shortening with vegetable oil if you wish.) In increments of 30 seconds at half power, melt the chocolate, stirring well between each increment. Once the chocolate is fully melted and silky smooth, dip the balls fully into it. Allow the excess chocolate to drain away before transferring the ball back to the parchment-lined baking sheet.

Once all of the balls are coated, set them back into your fridge while you melt the Reese’s Peanut Butter Chipits using the same microwave technique – 30 second increments at half power. Once fully melted, remove the balls from the fridge and drizzle the top of each ball with a little of the melted peanut butter chipits. Return them to the fridge to fully firm up before storing them in a food-safe container. Keep Peanut Butter Balls refridgerated at all times.

THE TYPE OF COCONUT IS IMPORTANT

When it comes to coconut to bake with, there are two kinds – sweetened and unsweetened. Those two types can be found in different levels of fineness and coarseness. It’s important to use unsweetened coconut for this recipe. Otherwise, with the addition of both granulated and brown sugar, these Peanut Butter Balls may be too sweet to eat!

You’ll want to use unsweetened coconut. The size of the shredded coconut won’t make a difference to the taste, but it certainly will make a difference to the look. The longer shreds of coconut might make for a messier Peanut Butter Ball and you want your delicious cookies to look just as amazing as they taste!

Depending on the brand, some coconut is shredded, grated, or desiccated. Shredded usually refers to larger pieces, while grated tends to be smaller. Desiccated has nothing to do with the size of the pieces but means the coconut is dried or the moisture has been removed. In most cases, you will find a fine or medium grade. Medium is my personal coconut of choice in most cases and it is what I used here.

LET’S TALK PEANUT BUTTER!

Before you are tempted to send me an email or a comment knocking my choice of peanut butter that is not natural and organic, hear me out! This recipe will not work with natural peanut butter. I repeat, this recipe will not work with natural peanut butter. There, I said it. Now, if you go ahead and make this recipe using natural peanut butter and it comes out a big, wet mess, you cannot blame me.

John.e uses only natural peanut butter, but I do not. I do not like it at all. Yes, it’s healthier and better for me, but I’d rather not eat it at all if I have to choose the natural stuff. I grew up on Kraft or Jiffy peanut butter and it’s the only peanut butter I ever use.

For these squares, you have the choice of smooth peanut butter or crunchy. But, you do not have a choice between all-natural and sugar-laden, mass-produced stuff. The squares will not hold together properly. Mostly, it certainly will not taste right. If you are completely against using non-natural peanut butter, as harsh as it may sound, this recipe is most certainly not for you.

QUESTIONS?

If I have not answered all of your questions in the text above, don’t hesitate to reach out to me! You can contact me by sending me a message in the comments section further down the page. I will try my best to answer as soon as possible! You might reach me even faster by following me on Facebook and sending me a private message. Scroll down below the recipe card to find my Follow Me on Social Media box and never miss another recipe!