Old Fashioned Peanut Butter Balls

My grandmother made the best Old Fashioned Peanut Butter Balls every year when my siblings, cousins and I were growing up. We would get so excited for these soft, sweet peanut butter balls and their thick, chocolatey coating! With only five ingredients, you can also easily make these creamy, delicious classic holiday treats!

PEANUT BUTTER BUTTERSCOTCH BALLS

I was so excited the day I found the handwritten recipe inside one of her old cookbooks. I wasn’t sure if that was THE recipe, but when I noticed butterscotch in the list of ingredients, I knew it was the one.

What makes this recipe for Old Fashioned Peanut Butter Balls special is that, once chilled, the balls are rolled in melted CHOCOLATE and BUTTERSCOTCH chips! Butterscotch adds such depth of flavor to the chocolate and also gives the balls a thicker, more delicious outer coating to bite into!

HOW TO MAKE OLD FASHIONED PEANUT BUTTER BALLS

This recipe has a base similar to most other peanut butter ball recipes. The first step is to form the plain peanut butter balls.

1. Melt some butter AND peanut butter together.
2. To that mixture, you stir in some sifted powdered sugar.
3. Form that mixture into balls and put them in the fridge for at least 30 minutes to chill.

Chilling the balls is an important step. They will be much easier to coat in chocolate if they are chilled and hold their shape.

Plain peanut butter balls are delicious on their own. You can absolutely stop here or continue on to coat them. I personally like to coat most of mine, but I do leave some plain just to give people the option.

MELTING THE CHOCOLATE AND BUTTERSCOTCH

The next step is to melt the chocolate and butterscotch. You can do this one of two ways: a double boiler or the microwave.

My grandmother always used a double boiler which to her just meant placing a glass bowl filled with your chocolate and butterscotch over a pan or bowl of simmering water. The important thing to keep in mind here is to not let your bowl or pan touch the hot water.

You basically want to use the steam from the water to melt the chocolate, stirring until it’s melted. I’ve had my water both too hot and too full before which caused me to burn my chocolate and butterscotch!

More and more in recipes that call for melted chocolate, I find myself using the microwave. To use the microwave, simply put your chocolate and butterscotch in a microwave safe bowl and microwave for 15 second intervals. Stir between intervals and continue until it’s melted.

DIPPING THE BALLS IN CHOCOLATE

Once the balls have chilled, take some out of the fridge to dip them. I like to leave half in the fridge while I’m working to ensure that they’re all chilled and haven’t come to room temperature when I coat them. Have a cookie sheet lined with wax paper nearby.

You can use two spoons or two forks to coat the balls. I used to use spoons, but find it a little neater to use forks. The tines of the forks allow excess chocolate to fall through instead of globbing up on the cookie sheet. Drop a ball in the chocolate. Roll it around to ensure it’s coated and then gently pass it from fork to fork until the ball has been coated.

Let the balls cool and the chocolate harden either at room temperature or in the fridge. I prefer to let them cool in the fridge.

I just made my first batch of the season yesterday and can’t wait to start sharing them! Friends and family: expect to see them soon! Store them in the fridge. They last longer that way and I find them a little more enjoyable that way. They are also delicious frozen!

Here’s the easy recipe so that you can make, enjoy and share these super delicious old fashioned peanut butter balls!

For more decadent treats, try my:

• Chocolate Pistachio Thumbprint Cookies
• Soft and Chewy M&M Cookies
• Coconut Butterscotch Bars

Print