Christmas Treat: Buckeye Balls

Peanut Butter Buckeye Balls

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups Creamy Peanut Butter
1/2 cup butter, softened (I used I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter Sticks, but real butter would be even better!) Use $1/2 Land O Lakes Butter or $1/1 I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract Aldi’s has the best price on vanilla that I’ve seen!
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups powdered sugar (may need less) $0.55/1 Dixie Crystals Sugar, exp. 12/31/11 (Publix Winter Savings Booklet)
12 oz. package semi-sweet chocolate chips $1/2 Nestle Toll House Morsels, exp. 12/31/11 (RP 11/06/11), $1/2 Nestle Chocolate Baking Morsels Target printable, or $0.50/2 Nestle Toll House Morsels printable
2 tablespoons shortening $0.50/1 Crisco Product, exp. 1/31/12 (RP 11/06/11 R)

Directions

Cream together peanut butter, butter, vanilla and salt with mixer on low speed until blended.
Add 2 cups powdered sugar, and mix until blended. Then add additional powdered sugar as needed to make the peanut butter mixture stiff enough to mold into peanut butter balls and stay on a toothpick when dipped into chocolate.
Roll into balls and refrigerate until firm (about 15 minutes.)
Meanwhile, mix together chocolate chips and shortening in microwaveable bowl. Heat on medium heat for 30 seconds, then stir. Continue to heat for 3o seconds at a time until melted. (You may need to re-heat as you’re dipping the peanut butter balls.)
Using toothpick, dip peanut butter balls into chocolate leaving some peanut butter showing at the top to resemble buckeyes, then set on wax paper. (I only had Saran wrap, which worked fine, but wax paper would have been nice!) Shake off excess chocolate . . . as you can tell, I didn’t do a very good job getting the excess off, but they tasted just fine!
To hide your toothpick mark, just smooth over the holes with your finger. Then refrigerate until hardened. Yummmm!

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