Culinary Column: Chocolate Peanut Butter Balls

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All done dippin'.

This is my favorite family recipe to make over Christmas break. For my family, it’s a must have treat during the holiday season. I love setting these treats out for Santa, and packaging them up to gift to my friends and family. This dessert does contain peanuts, therefore if you are planning to gift these to someone who is allergic; you should get them something else for Christmas. Have fun baking, and Happy Holidays!

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of powdered sugar
• 1 small box of Wheaties cereal
• 18 oz. of creamy peanut butter (I recommend the JIF brand)
• 2 sticks of butter
• 12 oz. bag of semi sweet chocolate chips
• 12 oz. bag of milk chocolate chips
• Paraffin Wax (I specifically use Gulf Wax, and it works the best for me)
• Wax paper
• Dash of salt

Instructions:

1. In a food processor (or in a plastic bag), crush your wheaties in small amounts at a time. You want the cereal to be blended into pieces a bit larger than a powder.
2. Place the crushed cereal into a medium sized bowl and sit them aside.
3. Melt your butter in the microwave at intervals of 10-15 seconds, and put in large mixing bowl.
4. Put peanut butter and powdered sugar into the same mixing bowl as your butter, then combine.
5. Place small amounts at a time of crushed Wheaties into the mixing bowl, and mix until evenly combined.
6. Once all the cereal, peanut butter, and butter is combined; roll your dough into balls about one inch in diameter.
7. Place the rolled balls onto a baking sheet with wax paper.
8. Put the peanut butter balls into the freezer until you are ready to coat them in chocolate, or for at least 45 minutes.
9. To coat the peanut butter balls in chocolate you will need a double boiler, or a metal bowl on top of water that is boiling in a saucepan.
10. Pour half of each bag of chocolate into the bowl, along with a dash of salt, and as much paraffin shavings as wanted (the wax adds shine to the chocolate). I typically use about 1/8 of the stick of wax, and chop it into small pieces.
11. Wait until the chocolate is melted to turn off the stove, then place two chocolate balls into the bowl of melted chocolate.
12. Roll them until coated in chocolate, then take two forks and lift the balls onto the wax paper on a baking sheet (make sure the wax paper is in close proximity to your double boiler so you won’t drip melted chocolate on your kitchen floors).
13. If you run out of melted chocolate, repeat steps 9 – 11.
14. Once all the peanut butter balls have been coated in chocolate and placed in the freezer until hardened, use a big container to store them in.
15. When you package the food, layer wax paper in between each layer of balls, so nothing sticks together or gets damaged.
16. After letting them sit in the freezer overnight, they should be ready to eat.
17. Enjoy your homemade desserts!

If you’re making these for a specific event or just to spice things up, feel free to add sprinkles onto the chocolate right after you dip them, and place them on wax paper. When crushing the Wheaties Brand cereal, don’t blend into a complete powder, you still want to have a crunch when you bite into the chocolate peanut butter balls. Make sure you have an adult to help you when dipping the peanut butter balls into the chocolate. Happy baking and Merry Christmas!