Baking our Way to Christmas - Day 3

Well, today friends is the most popular recipe of the Season in my house. It's PEANUT BUTTER BALL day. This is a no-bake day but you will need a double-boiler type of setup similar to this. I don't like a real double boiler but rather use a Pyrex glass bowl over a simmering small pot of water to melt the chocolate and a heat-proof spatula to keep it all tidy as possible.

But, I digress....here's the recipe. I will keep it short and sweet today as I need to get to town for a haircut and to pickup my work and make some money. Tomorrow we're making homemade caramels. They are scrumptious.

Peanut Butter Balls
1 c melted butter (do NOT substitute margarine please...these are decadent)
1-1/2 c graham cracker crumbs
1/2 c chopped nuts (I like walnuts)
1 c coconut flakes or shredded, any kind really
1 one-pound box of 10x /confectioner's sugar
1 tbs vanilla extract
1 12-ounce jar of crunchy peanut butter
Melt the following together - I would have an extra bag of chocolate chips on hand in case you're heavy-handed with the chocolate...hey, it happens!
1/2 stick of paraffin (optional)
1 12-ounce pkg of chocolate chips (again, real choc chips, semi sweet or sweeter)

I get out my food processor to crumb up the graham crackers. Then the nuts added to chop. Then I dump this into a bowl and add the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Here is the consistency I get. Keep in mind the melted butter will setup in the recipe and you'll have a more solid "dough" once this happens.

Start melting the chocolate while you're mixing or shaping up the balls. I like 1 to 1-1/2 inch diameter balls. I shape them all and put them on a plate next to my melted chocolate and paraffin mixture. That might sound kind of weird but the paraffin makes the shine nice on them and gives them a nice smooth finish. Your choice on this....I figure if my arteries don't clog eating these babies, what's a little paraffin going to hurt? It's food grade paraffin. Lay out some wax paper to place the dipped PBB on to setup. It's a bit messy so get things setup ahead of time, not on the fly. They need to set for a while before you try to move them. Here is my total setup.

I like to use a fork to roll the balls around in the chocolate. I've tried egg dippers like one would use for Easter egg dyeing but the fork works the best. A spoon holds onto too much chocolate and you get lots of puddles at the base of the PBB's. Here they are all finished. They freeze great by the way. I will tell you right now that I'm going to have to make another batch....we dug into the freezer for some last night while watching TV...didn't hold out enough "rejects" I guess! Happy trails until next time.