Chocolate Peanut Butter Balls

No bake chocolate peanut butter balls are truly an irresistible bite-sized treat. Featuring a creamy yet crumbly peanut butter center dipped and drizzled in semi-sweet chocolate!

Why this recipe works

Chocolate peanut butter balls are similar to our no-bake chocolate peanut butter bars, but instead of bars, they’re rolled up and smothered in a chocolate coating. They’re the epitome of a chocolate and peanut butter lover’s fantasy.

They can pass as a “cookie” or a “truffle”, but they’re really in a league of their own and always appear on holiday dessert tables. Truthfully, a peanut butter and chocolate treat is something we can get behind year-round.

Ingredients you will need

Get all measurements, ingredients, and instructions in the printable version at the end of this post.

ingredients for Chocolate Peanut Butter Balls

Ingredient Info and Substitution Suggestions

CHOCOLATE – You can make these peanut butter balls with any kind of chocolate you prefer. We’re using semi-sweet chocolate chips here, but you can follow the same steps with milk, dark, or even white chocolate. Almond bark or melting wafers work nicely as well.

PEANUT BUTTER – We suggest you use regular, creamy, no-stir peanut butter for this recipe. We have not tried using natural peanut butter or sunbutter as they tend to be on the thinner side of nut butters and you want a thicker, creamier consistency for making these balls. You could experiment with crunchy peanut butter if you’d like!

SHORTENING – The shortening added to the melted chocolate makes for smoother chocolate for coating the peanut butter balls and also prevents “bloom” on the chocolate (or the discoloration of the chocolate surface). The set chocolate is still soft, though. For a hard chocolate shell that snaps and holds up well to fingers, you would need to temper the chocolate. The shortening is a nice shortcut around needing to temper it.

How to Make Chocolate Peanut Butter Balls

These step by step photos and instructions are here to help you visualize how to make this recipe. You can Jump to Recipe to get the printable version of this recipe, complete with measurements and instructions at the bottom.

Line a sheet pan with parchment paper and set aside.
Combine melted butter, peanut butter, granulated sugar, and vanilla extract in a medium bowl and beat together (with a hand mixer or standing mixer) until combined.
Add in the powdered sugar and mix again until combined, the mixture will be crumbly.
Use a 1 tablespoon cookie scoop to scoop out about 28 balls of peanut butter mixture.
Roll each scoop between the palms of your hands to form a ball and place each ball on the prepared sheet pan.
Place the sheet pan in the freezer for 30 minutes. After the balls are fully chilled, prepare the chocolate coating.

EXPERT TIP: Chilling the peanut butter balls makes them much easier to work with and it will also help to set the chocolate coating from the inside out.
Combine the chocolate chips and shortening in a heatproof bowl. Heat and stir in 30-second increments in the microwave until the chocolate is smooth and melted completely (if there are just a few solid pieces of chocolate left in the bowl, discontinue heating and simply stir until all of the chocolate melts and is smooth).
Using a fork or chocolate dipping tool, dunk peanut butter balls into the chocolate and turn to fully coat them. Tap the excess chocolate off of the ball and place it onto a sheet of parchment paper. Allow chocolate to harden.

EXPERT TIP: You may need to remove balls from the freezer just a few at a time so that they are fully chilled when going into the chocolate. This helps the chocolate harden more quickly.
After all of the balls have been dipped, scoop the excess melted chocolate into a plastic baggy or piping bag. Snip a small corner from the bag and drizzle over the chocolate coated peanut butter balls.
Allow drizzle to set and serve immediately.

Frequently Asked Questions & Expert Tips

How do I store chocolate peanut butter balls?

You can store them in an airtight container on the counter or in the refrigerator for up to 7 days.

Can I freeze chocolate peanut butter balls?

Yes, you can freeze them for up to 3 months, though discoloration/speckling may occur. Defrost in the refrigerator before serving.

white cutting board with Chocolate Peanut Butter Balls

Serving Suggestions

As we’ve mentioned above, chocolate peanut butter balls are fantastic treats for Christmas or Thanksgiving, but they also make decadent little edible gifts for all sorts of celebrations. If you want to get real fancy, use lollipop sticks to dip your peanut butter balls into the chocolate and turn them into chocolate peanut butter pops!

You can serve them at room temperature or chilled. If your peanut butter balls are getting a bit sticky at room temp, pop them in the freezer for a few minutes to reharden the chocolate before serving.

More Chocolate and Peanut Butter Recipes

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Amanda Davis

President at Amanda's Creative Studio, Inc.

Amanda Davis is the entrepreneurial mom of four grown children and four step children. She and her husband, Chef Antoine, love to cook together creating recipes for this blog. Amanda also make kid's crafts and creates decorative items for her home. She is a crafting expert and guru in the kitchen and has appeared online and in print publications many times over the years. She is also a craft book author five times over and product developer as well as the owner of FunFamilyCrafts.com. You can find her on social media by using the buttons to the left!