Chocolate Peanut Butter Truffles
We're nearing the end of autumn baking. Can you believe it? Pretty soon, people will start throwing candy canes and peppermint into everything instead of pumpkin and... well, more pumpkin. And even though winter doesn't technically start until late December, it already feels like fall is winding down.
I suppose it helps that Halloween was yesterday, and the only fall holiday we have left is Thanksgiving (which is my all-time favorite holiday, by the way). So we've got a few more weeks left of pumpkin and caramel apples and leaf cut-outs, and that's a good thing because I'm not tired of any of it yet. I don't really know why I just went on and on about holidays, because these treats aren't seasonal... at all.
But I had to decide on a Halloween treat for Carson and me while we watched the Sixth Sense and drank some beers (pretty exciting night, I know), and these peanut butter truffles were just what we needed. They're delicious, crazy easy, and they look a bit fancy - all criteria for a perfect dessert, if you ask me! I crushed up some Butterfinger and sprinkled it over the top of the truffles, but you go ahead and use any of your favorite chocolate candies - M&M's, Snickers, KitKat, Reese's Pieces... these are so versatile!
INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup smooth peanut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons powdered sugar
16 oz dark chocolate, chopped
3/4 cup white chocolate, chopped
1/4 cup Butterfinger, crushed, or any candy of your choice!
DIRECTIONS
Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium speed until creamy, about 30 seconds. Add peanut butter, vanilla and salt, and beat until combined. Add the powdered sugar, and beat on low until no lumps remain. The mixture will be a little crumbly, but it'll roll into balls just fine.
Roll the dough into 1-inch balls and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment - you should have about 40 balls. Refrigerate for 30 minutes until firm, or up to 2 hours.
When the dough balls are ready, set a wire rack over the parchment-lined pan. Melt your dark chocolate in the microwave in 30-second increments until smooth - or melt over very low heat in a saucepan. Using a spoon, dip the balls into the melted chocolate, making sure all sides are coated, and place carefully on the wire rack. Repeat with all truffles, then set back in the fridge for 10 minutes until the chocolate has hardened.
While they're in the fridge, melt your white chocolate in 15-second increments, or in a saucepan over low heat. Remove the truffles from the fridge. Dip a spoon into the white chocolate, and quickly drizzle it over truffles, dipping it back into the white chocolate as needed. The trick here is being very quick with your wrist to get very thin drizzles of chocolate.
Top the truffles with crushed Butterfinger or other candy, and return to the fridge for another 20 minutes or so until they're firm.
