Chocolate Peanut Butter Balls

With Halloween this weekend and Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years right around the corner, you may be attending office parties or be getting invited to other holiday parties with friends! 

These Chocolate Peanut Butter Balls are a perfect fit for any party. They are my go to "crowd pleaser." With few ingredients and a decent shelf life, these treats can be made easily and ahead of time. 

Ingredients:
18 oz crunchy peanut butter
2 sticks of butter
2 1/2 cups of graham cracker crumbs
1 cup of coconut
1 lb of powdered sugar
1 cup of crushed pecans
2 bags (11.5 oz each) of Hershey's Milk (or semi-sweet) Chocolate Chips

Directions:
Mix everything together except the chocolate chips. I usually start by using a fork to incorporate everything, but end up mixing it my hands because the mixture gets so thick.  Once thoroughly mixed, roll the mixture in 1 inch balls and place on a paper towel.

This is how the mixture should look after everything has been thoroughly mixed

Before melting the chocolate and dipping the peanut butter balls

Once all of the mixture has been rolled, it is then time to melt the chocolate. You can do this by either setting up a double boiler, or simply melting the chips in the microwave (if you do this, make sure you stir the chips every 30 seconds to keep them from scorching).

Once the chips are melted, start dipping and rolling the peanut butter balls in the chocolate. Set the chocolate dipped balls to the side on some wax paper or aluminum foil to harden. Once dried, place balls in an air tight container!

I made about 70 balls with this recipe, though I varied the sizes a little bit. 

Also, this dessert can be make with other nut butters. I once made these for someone with a peanut allergy, but I substituted the peanut butter with sunflower butter and they were just as good! So, please experiment and let me know what you come up with!

 Enjoy!