This year I find myself looking at the calendar in amazement wondering where all the time I thought I had before the holidays went. Actually the whole summer and fall have pretty much zip-pity do da-ed right out of my arse. Spring storms this year brought hail and water damage to our home. So in addition to playing general contractor for the already scheduled brick work, I found my self managing a new roof and gutters (thank-you State Farm), as well as the painting of all the exterior trim. The unplanned remodeling of the lower level of our house did offer us new options for finally completing the “man cave” of our dreams (with a giant HD television, amazing sound system, and sexy lighting) however I guess between doing much of the work myself and organizing the rest, I somehow lost a month or two.

Suddenly it was Thanksgiving (didn’t even see that one coming) and now it was time to decorate the house and make holiday treats for family and friends, neighbors, and the caregivers at the home where my mother resides. So I got busy and busted out a dozen of my trusted holiday family favorites and got to work. As I completed the last treat, I felt that I had sifted, creamed, chopped, dusted, and rolled about as much butter, flour, and sugar as I could possible tolerate. Seems to come a point each year where I am just over it, and with company arriving this coming Wednesday (hopefully a bit later in the day than the new furniture and bed are to be delivered, nothing like running a tight schedule) I felt like I had everything taken care of.  Then came the question. “You are going to make Peanut butter balls aren’t you? I don’t see any peanut butter balls. They are my favorite and you always make them. It just wouldn’t be Christmas without them”.

So overnight as I lay awake dreading the idea of rolling and dipping yet another item, the thought came to me to simply make them as a bar. The recipe itself is quite simple, so why not just let simple be and make my life the same. Well the experiment worked quite well I must say. I prepared the filling as I normally would for the balls, but instead pressed it into an 8″ x 8″ pan that I had lined with foil and buttered. Then I tempered some chocolate and flooded it over the top of the filling. I allowed the pan to set up overnight, cut the bar into pieces and….. ta da! I did go the extra and melt some peanut butter chips to decorate the tops but that certainly would have not been necessary. I must say they turned out really quite good. I still think I might prefer the rolled ones, but for this holiday, simple is certainly……. simply delicious.

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Peanut Butter Ball Bars

Everyone's favorite chocolate and peanut butter balls made in an easy bar form.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes minutes

Total Time 25 minutes minutes

Servings 48 Candies

Ingredients

• 1   cup butter softened
• 1   cup peanut butter smooth or crunchy
• 2   cups graham cracker crumbs
• 3   cups powdered sugar
• 1  12 oz. bag semi-sweet baking chips

Instructions

• Line an 8" x 8" baking pan with aluminum foil and lightly grease with butter
• Mix together butter and peanut butter until smooth. Add graham crackers and mix well. Add powdered sugar and mix until a soft dough forms.
• Press evenly into the bottom of the prepared pan.
• Melt chocolate by tempering either in a double boiler or in the microwave. Pour melted chocolate over the top of the peanut butter mixture and spread evenly.
• Allow for chocolate to set up before cutting. You can speed up this process by placing pan in the fridge.
• Using the foil lift the bars out of the pan and place on a cutting board. Cut into 1" - 1 1/2" squares. Store in an airtight container.

Notes

You can use any recipe for Peanut Butter Balls with this method.

More recipes you might enjoy:

Better Homes and Gardens

Joy of Baking

Sweet Anna’s

Taste of Home

The Girl Who Ate Everything

Layers of cool creamy peanut butter and chocolate create this decadent, yet surprisingly light dessert. Probably one of the easiest cakes you will ever make, this treat tastes as though you spent hours preparing it.

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No-bake Peanut Butter Chocolate Eclair Cake

Layers of cool creamy peanut butter and chocolate create this decadent, yet surprisingly light dessert. Probably one of the easiest cakes you will ever make, this treat tastes as though you spent hours preparing it.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American, Retro

Prep Time 12 hours hours 20 minutes minutes

Servings 24

Author Christoph

Ingredients

• 1 box chocolate graham crackers
• 2 3 1/4 oz. boxes vanilla instant pudding
• 1 cup creamy peanut butter
• 3 1/2 cups milk
• 8 oz. Whipped cream
• 1 can chocolate frosting

Instructions

• Lightly spray the bottom of a 9″ x 13″ pan with cooking spray. Line the bottom of the pan with whole graham crackers covering the entire dish. Cut crackers to fit with a sharp knife if needed.
• In bowl with an electric mixer combine pudding mix with milk and peanut butter. Beat at medium speed for 2 minutes. Fold in whipped topping, and combine until well mixed.
• Pour half the pudding mixture over graham crackers. Place another layer of whole graham crackers on top of pudding layer. Pour over remaining pudding mixture and cover the top with another layer of graham crackers.
• Heat the container of prepared frosting, uncovered in the microwave for 1 minute. Pour over the top of the cake.
• Refrigerate for at least 12 hours before serving.

Notes

This is a great make ahead dessert for entertaining or a pot luck. So easy to make and always a huge success!

It is just hard to beat an old-fashioned classic. Yesterday I was craving just such an item. While I love complex flavors and visually stunning presentations, sometimes I simply enjoy getting back to basics. So I pulled out the old Betty Crocker Cooky Book and decided this peanut butter cookie was just the ticket.

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Old Fashioned Peanut Butter Cookies

Old fashioned peanut butter cookies from the sweet talker herself, Betty Crocker

Course Cookies, Dessert

Cuisine American, Retro

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 45 minutes minutes

Servings 3 Dozen

Author Christoph

Ingredients

• ¼ shortening
• ¼ butter, softened
• ½ peanut butter
• ½ granulated sugar
• ½ brown sugar, packed
• 1 egg
• 1¼ cups flour
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ¾ teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• Sanding Sugar

Instructions

• Position a rack in the center of your oven and heat to 375º F.
• Cream together shortening, butter, peanut butter and both sugars. Add egg and mix well.
• In a separate bowl sift together all dry ingredients. Stir into shortening mixture.
• Roll dough into 1¼″ balls. Place the balls about 3″ apart on a parchment lined baking sheet. Flatten crisscross style with a fork dipped in flour.
• Decorate with large sanding sugar if desired.
• Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until edges just begin to turn golden.
• Cool on a wire rack.

Notes

The original Betty Crocker recipe.