Peanut Butter Balls

Christmas and delicious food go hand in hand. I am sitting here thinking about all the wonderful food we are planning to make over the holidays and I can't wait! Dutch Pancake piled high with strawberries, bananas, blueberries and whipped cream, fresh croissants, Roasted Beef Tenderloin with Creamy Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies for Santa, Chocolate Molten Cakes, Hungry-man Breakfast, Roasted Chestnuts...and maybe even a cheesecake...

I love Christmas baking. A few days ago BoyBee helped me make Peanut Butter Balls. It was such a simple recipe - perfect for little hands to help with. The filling needs a bit of time to set in the fridge but the actual hands-on time required to put these together is minimal.

See if you can resist making these classic treats...

Chocolate Peanut Butter Balls

Ingredients:

1 cup unsalted butter
1 cup chunky peanut butter (I use Kraft)
2 1/4 cup icing sugar
1 3/4 cup crushed rice cereal (I use Nature's Path)
1 cup chocolate chips (I use Hershey's Chipits)
2 tablespoons vegetable shortening (I use Crisco)

Directions:

1) Melt the butter and peanut butter together in a saucepan.

2) In a medium bowl mix together the icing sugar and crushed rice cereal. (Note: I use the Magic Bullet to crush up the rice cereal and it does a fantastic job. Be sure to leave some bigger pieces though so you still have a nice crunch.)

3) Add the butter/peanut butter mixture to the icing sugar/cereal mixture. Mix well, then place in the fridge to set. Clean up and then go relax with a good book. Come back in 30-60 minutes.

4) Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Roll up the mixture into 1" balls and place on the baking sheet. You'll have to give each one a firm squeeze to help hold it all together. Place the baking sheet in the fridge for another 20 minutes or longer.

5) Melt together the chocolate chips and shortening in a bowl in the microwave. It usually takes just over a minute for me. Stir and put it back in if needed.

6) Using two forks roll the peanut butter balls in the melted chocolate and place back on the baking sheet. Set in the fridge for at least an hour before eating.

Enjoy and share!

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