Chocolate Dipped Peanut Butter Balls Three Ways

Ladies (and gentlemen)…my mind has been blown. Have you ever dipped homemade peanut butter balls in white chocolate? I never thought about white chocolate as a coating for peanut butter balls until I grabbed some dark chocolate Ghiradelli melting wafers this past weekend and saw it’s white chocolate counterpart sitting right next to it. Thus, the idea for a white chocolate version of a peanut butter ball was born right there in the middle of the baking aisle of my local grocery store.

So, naturally I grabbed a milk chocolate version as well and decided to not box myself in to enjoying just one type of chocolate coating with my peanut butter balls. I dedicated the afternoon to letting my tastebuds be free to choose which one was right for me by making all three versions.

Each chocolate coating flavor is slightly different in taste, which brings a nice variation to someone like me who has eaten lots and lots of peanut butter balls in my time. ? But, despite which coating you choose (or go ahead and try all three!), you will never be disappointed because each one is filled with a rich peanut butter filling that is to die for. I am not going to lie to you…I had a hard time forcing myself to stop eating it all while forming the balls. It took massive amounts of willpower.

Without further ado, this post features 3 amazing ways to enjoy the classic peanut butter ball…with milk chocolate, dark chocolate, and white chocolate (all I can tell you is YUM!). Get ready to enter peanut butter heaven. ??

What You Need

2 cups creamy peanut butter

3/4 cups salted butter (softened)

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

4 cups powdered sugar

Ghiradelli Dark Chocolate Melting Wafers

Ghiradelli White Chocolate Melting Wafers

Ghiradelli Milk Chocolate Melting Wafers

NOTE: You can also use Wilton Candy Melts for the dipping chocolate. They work great as well!

Step by Step

1. Mix your softened butter, peanut butter and vanilla extract with a hand mixer or stand mixer until creamy.
2. Begin mixing in your powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time. You might need to use a little less than 4 cups or more depending on the consistency of your peanut butter mixture. Add in a little bit at a time until the mixture is creamy, but can hold together in one big ball.
3. Refrigerate the mixture for an hour. This will help firm up your mixture to form the peanut butter balls.
4. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and set aside.
5. Remove peanut butter mixture from the refrigerator and begin forming it into 1 inch balls. Return the balls to the refrigerator for an hour to allow them to firm up again before dipping them into the chocolate.
6. Heat up each flavor of chocolate melting wafers using the directions on each package (each one might be a bit different, depending on which ones you use). I have had the best experience microwaving any kind of packaged chocolate wafers on 50% power starting with 1 minute. Remove the chocolate from the microwave and stir. If it still needs to be melted, return to the microwave for 15-30 second increments until fully melted and smooth.
7. Dip each peanut butter ball into the chocolate using a fork until fully coated. Let some of the chocolate drip back into the bowl before placing onto the parchment lined baking sheet. Repeat until each ball is dipped in your desired chocolate coating flavor. I dipped 1/3 of the peanut butter balls in white chocolate, 1/3 in dark chocolate, and the remaining 1/3 in milk chocolate.
8. For best results, chill for an hour before serving.

NOTE: You can use reduced fat creamy peanut butter (I have swapped it out a couple of times with similar, delicious results). The mixture won’t be as creamy when forming the balls, so be aware that you will most likely use closer to 3 cups of powdered sugar instead of 4 to create the right consistency. It will seem “drier”, but it will taste just as good as the regular peanut butter, I promise. 🙂