These chocolate peanut butter balls (also called Buckeye Balls) are delicious and so easy to make. The flavors of chocolate and creamy peanut butter make this the perfect autumn or Christmas dessert recipe. Start a new tradition, making this peanut butter balls recipe every year! My children love helping. Who’s ready to make some treats?
Related: Peanut Butter Blossom Cookies, Peanut Butter Bars, Peanut Butter Fudge, Chocolate Covered Strawberries.
Ingredients
- Peanut Butter – You can use creamy or crunchy peanut butter. I used crunchy this time.
- Softened Butter – Use salted butter.
- Powdered Sugar – For sweetness and texture. This makes the peanut butter balls melt in your mouth.
- Graham Cracker Crumbs – You may also use cookie crumbs.
- Milk
- Vanilla Extract
- Salt
- Melting Chocolate – You can use any type of melting chocolate including dark chocolate, milk chocolate or white chocolate. I used Ghirardelli.
This recipe is so decadent and indulgent. Don’t skip the vanilla extract or the pinch of salt—it really makes a difference. I used dark chocolate for mine and they were delicious.
How to Make Peanut Butter Balls
In a stand mixer (or bowl), combine peanut butter and softened butter on medium speed until it is smooth.
Slowly add powdered sugar, graham cracker crumbs, milk and vanilla extract to the peanut butter mixture as you mix the batter at medium speed.
Roll the dough into balls and place them on a piece of parchment paper. Freeze the balls for at least 10 minutes before moving on to the chocolate coating.
Use your microwave in 30-second intervals to melt the chocolate. Stir between each interval. Once the chocolate is completely melted, it’s time to dip.
Dip each ball halfway into the chocolate, giving it a shake over the bowl to remove excess chocolate. Place it on a parchment paper covered baking sheet or cooling rack to harden. Once each half has hardened, dip the other half into chocolate. Be careful to cover every part of the ball with chocolate.
Lastly, use a spoon to drizzle chocolate over the top of each ball, creating a textured design. Optionally, you can also add festive sprinkles to your peanut butter balls to match the holiday or occasion.
This recipe makes 20-25 balls depending on how large you make them. If you are a perfectionist, you can use a dough scooper to measure out each ball. I personally like to eyeball it.
Tips For Making
- If you don’t have melting chocolate on hand, you can melt chocolate chips or candy bars to use as your chocolate coating.
- You may swap the graham cracker crumbs for cookie crumbs of any flavor. Choose peanut butter cookies for even more delicious peanut butter flavor. They taste just like Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. Or choose chocolate cookies to create a nice flavor variation.
- If you don’t have a microwave, try a double boiler to melt your chocolate or use an electrical melting pot.
- If you want to dip your balls all in one step, try using a spiral dipping tool or a fork.
- Don’t like peanut butter? You can use any type of nut butter including almond butter, cashew butter or even cookie butter to make this recipe.
- Add festive sprinkles if you are celebrating a holiday.
More Chocolate & Peanut Butter Recipes
- Oreo Truffles
- Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
- Chocolate Banana Smoothie
- Homemade Peanut Butter Cups
- Giant Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Chocolate Martini
Frequently Asked Questions
How long do Peanut Butter Balls last?
You can store these in an airtight container for up to two weeks in the refrigerator and longer in the freezer. Although I should note that they are so delicious they probably won’t last that long.
Is it better to use creamy or crunchy peanut butter for Peanut Butter Balls?
Choose what you love! Creamy and crunchy peanut butter both make excellent peanut butter balls—the only difference is a little extra crunch and texture when using crunchy peanut butter.
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Ingredients
- 1 cup peanut butter
- ¼ cup butter (softened )
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- ¾ cup graham cracker crumbles
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon milk
- 10 ounces melting chocolate
Equipment
- 1 microwave or double boiler to melt chocolate
Instructions
- In a stand mixer (or bowl), combine peanut butter and softened butter on medium speed until it is smooth.
- Slowly add powdered sugar, graham cracker crumbs, milk and vanilla extract as you mix the batter at medium speed.
- Roll the dough into balls and place them on a piece of parchment paper. Freeze the balls for at least 10 minutes before moving on to the chocolate coating.
- Use your microwave in 30-second intervals to melt the chocolate. Stir between each interval. Once the chocolate is completely melted, it's time to dip.
- Dip each ball halfway into the chocolate and place it on a parchment paper to harden. Once each half has hardened, dip the other half into chocolate. Be careful to cover every part of the ball with chocolate.
- Lastly, use a spoon to drizzle chocolate over the top of each ball, creating a textured design. Optionally, you can also add festive sprinkles to your peanut butter balls to match the holiday or occasion.
Notes
- If you don’t have melting chocolate on hand, you can melt chocolate chips or candy bars to use as your chocolate coating.
- You may swap the graham cracker crumbs for cookie crumbs of any flavor. Choose peanut butter cookies for even more delicious peanut butter flavor or chocolate to create a nice flavor variation.
- If you don’t have a microwave, try a double broiler to melt your chocolate or use an electrical melting pot.
- If you want to dip your balls all in one step, try using a spiral dipping tool or a fork.
- Don’t like peanut butter? You can use any type of nut butter including almond butter, cashew butter or even cookie butter to make this recipe.
- Add festive sprinkles if you are celebrating a holiday.
Nutrition
Notice: Nutrition is auto-calculated, using Spoonacular, for your convenience. Where relevant, we recommend using your own nutrition calculations.
Made these for the first time today and can already tell they are going to become a family fav! I used gluten-free graham crackers to make the recipe GF friendly and it worked like a charm. I dipped them in semi-sweet chocolate then drizzled with milk chocolate and sprinkled Maldon sea salt flakes on the tops, which made for a great taste and elevated look. Highly recommend!
I made these last week for a party…so good!
I love this recipe! My family has made it for years and we use Rice Krispies instead of graham cracker crumbs!
These Peanut Butter Balls are the perfect combination of creamy, crunchy, and chocolatey goodness! Freezing the dough before dipping ensures a smooth, even chocolate coating, while a touch of vanilla and salt enhances the rich flavors. Whether you’re making them for the holidays or just a sweet treat, this foolproof recipe is a must-try. 🍫🥜 Who else is adding these to their dessert lineup?
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Made these at Christmas for a cookie exchange. They hardly made it out of the house because they were soooo good! A new Christmas tradition.
These look so delicious! I can’t wait to try and make these.
These look so tasty. Maybe too tasty! Can’t wait to try.
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Great nostalgic recipe! The texture is perfect.
Delicious! Perfect, easy treat to make with the kids. We made them for the holidays and they were loved by all.
Yum!!
The graham cracker crumbs! Genius! These are so much better than peanut butter balls without any crunch in the filling.
I love those cookies! I made them for Christmas this year and then made 3 more batches. I used rice krispies instead of the graham crackers.
One of my favorite things to make at Christmas!
This are the best!
I need to try these! Looks so good.
Perfect combo of flavors! So good.
I really appreciate you providing this fantastic blog. Best wishes and keep up the good work!
Many thanks for providing such an amazing blog. Best wishes, and please continue to share these kinds of posts in the future.
These are my go to easy treat – so good!!!