Easy Christmas Treat: Nutty Balls

Yes, the name of this recipe cracks me up (and my friend Melanie Gold, who was the one to give me the recipe, has many other double entendre names for them ;-) Mel, as a side note, is THE MOST AMAZING pastry chef. It's not her full-time job, but really, it should be. I'm not much of a baker, and if I want an amazing treat (I'm still dreaming about the mini cupcakes she made me this fall), I know I'll find one at her house. Anyway, she made them for my friends get-together this summer and they were amazing. One of those things that are so yummy, it's impossible to eat just one.

The original recipe, Mel told me, comes from GREAT COOKIES by Carole Walter. Doesn't the cover of that book alone make you want some cookies? Alas, ours are gone (I froze some for our holiday party, then donated the rest to the school Cookie Walk...lest I eat them all. Now I DO want to eat them all, LOL).


Anyway, I know several of these amazing nutty balls are waiting in my freezer for the holiday party. And don't tell my Dad, but I'm bringing him some for Christmas this year :-)

Nutty Balls
Recipe from Melanie Gold

2-1/3 cups strained confectioners' sugar, spooned in and leveled
1 cup fine graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened to room temp
3/4 cup peanut butter (creamy or chunky)
10 ounces semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped (or morsels)
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
2 cups salted peanuts, finely chopped

In a large bowl, stir together the sugar and crumbs. Add the butter and peanut butter and stir till thoroughly combined. Portion the dough into 1-inch balls and place on parchment-lined jelly roll pans/cookie sheets.

Combine the chocolate and veg. oil in a metal or glass bowl and melt over a pot of boiling water. (This is sometimes called a double boiler.) When chocolate is melted, turn off the heat but don't move the bowl. Place about half the nuts in a wide flat dish such as a pie plate.

Dip one ball at a time in the chocolate (Shirley's note: I used two forks, one to dip, then I transferred back and forth, and tapped the fork lightly on the side of the bowl to remove the excess chocolate), then roll it in the peanuts, coating evenly. Place balls back on the pans/sheets and allow to air dry. (Sometimes I refrigerate them to solidify the chocolate a bit faster.)

Store in an airtight container for up to 3 weeks. These treats freeze well and have a fairly long shelf life, but they are temperature sensitive.

Thanks, Mel!!

Shirley