Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Truffles

I just realized that this is the second post in a row that I will be doing about peanut butter and chocolate. This one was planned and the other just sort of happened. Oops. Although, from my trips around the blogosphere, I've come to realize peanut butter and chocolate is a popular combination in other homes besides my own, so I hope you don't mind my obsession.

Saturday is my husbands' 50th birthday. I may have mentioned we're having a party. Ha! I'm slightly obsessed. (If you read "slightly" as "obsessively obsessed.") I've been planning this party for months. First it was all in my head. Then I started making lists. And more lists. And excel spreadsheets.

Yes, I'm that kind of person.

I make lists for my lists. I color code. I make to-do lists by day and store. I organize my shopping lists by area of where I'm shopping. Hearing about all this, you probably think I am an uber-organized person who only uses wooden hangers and can eat off the tile floor. But you're wrong. I'm only this organized when I'm planning something: a party, a trip, a blog.

I love to plan. I can assure you that, as soon as this party is over, my mind will wander to Jordan's next birthday (which is not until February). I will tell my mind to stop; that it's crazy to think about something so far in the future. But it'll do it anyway. It's like I have no control over where it goes.

Anyhoo...now that you know I'm all shades of crazy, let's get back to the matter at hand, shall we?

Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Truffles. It pretty much says it all right there, doesn't it? Maybe I should have named them "Bites of Goodness" or "Better Than...Truffles." Because they are. That. Good.

I'm not serving these at the party this weekend, but they would be perfect for it. If you've been reading for awhile, you'll know my husband isn't really a die-hard sweets guy, like I am. He's more of a "that's okay, I'll have my Skinny Cow Cup, you can eat that pie" kind of guy.  But he loves peanut butter and chocolate. Peanut Butter Cups will abound this weekend. We will be swimming in them.

I used the recipe for the easiest and best peanut butter cookies ever for the center of these truffles. But, instead of using egg (because I didn't want to kill those on the receiving end) I used milk instead.

This recipe is super easy. And SO worth it. What's better than raw cookie dough? Dipped in melted chocolate? And if the cookie dough is peanut butter?

Priceless.

You know what's really hard about having a ton of Reese's Peanut Butter cups stacked in my dining room while I write this post?

The fact that I can't eat them and these pictures make me want them so bad.

Trust me. You have all of the ingredients in your pantry. You know you do. Go make some!

Enjoy!

Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Truffles
Printer-Friendly Recipe

Ingredients:

1 cup peanut butter (I use Skippy Naturals)

¾ cup sugar (if you are using regular peanut butter, start with ½ cup and taste after)

¼ teaspoon vanilla

1 tablespoon milk

2 cups chocolate melts (such as Wilton), almond bark, or chocolate chips

Sprinkles and/or chopped peanuts for decoration

Directions:

1.       Stir together the peanut butter, sugar, vanilla, and milk in a medium bowl. The mixture will be thick. Drop by tablespoonfulls onto a cookie sheet lined with wax paper. (I use a 1-inch cookie scoop for this step.) Freeze for at least 30 minutes.

2.       Melt your chocolate in the microwave safe bowl according to the package directions. I like to do mine at 50% power for 1 minute, stir, then additional increments of 30 seconds (also on 50% power) stirring in between, until it is melted.  Dip the peanut butter cookie dough balls in the chocolate and place on the cookie sheet lined with wax paper.

3.       Top with sprinkles or chopped nuts. Chill until firm.

Tips for dipping:

·         I like to heat my electric griddle on very low heat (200°) and cover it with two kitchen towels. I then set my bowl of melted chocolate on the griddle so the chocolate stays liquid. Stir it every once in a while to make sure the sides don’t harden.

·         Add your peanut butter ball to the chocolate and (using a spoon) cover it with chocolate. I then use a toothpick to pick it up and set it on the cookie sheet, first dabbing off the excess chocolate with the spoon. Sometimes the toothpick will slide out easily; other times I will use a second toothpick to gently ease the first one out of the truffle. If the hole is large, use the spoon to cover with a little chocolate. It doesn’t need to look perfect; that’s what the sprinkles are for!

·         I chill my truffles in the refrigerator for about an hour before packaging or stacking.

Yield: about 24 truffles

This recipe will be linked with:

Monday: Mingle Monday (Add a Pinch), Joy of Desserts. Tuesday: 2 Maids a Baking (2 Maids a Milking). Wednesday: Cast Party Wednesday, Made It On Monday (Lark's Country Heart),, This Chick Cooks.  Thursday: Sweet Treats Thursday (Something Swanky), Chic-and-Crafty (Frugal Girls). Friday: Sweet Tooth Friday (Alli-n-son). Saturday: Sweets for a Saturday (Sweet as Sugar Cookies). Sunday: A Well-Seasoned Life, Savory Sunday (The Sweet Details)