Buckeye Balls #christmas #cookies

The holidays are here and we are busy decorating, crafting and making delicious treats! Our lights are on the top and I've made several batches of peanut butter buckeye ball is amazing to give to family and friends. Chocolate covered peanut butter balls is a classic holiday treat that I make every year. They are a great project to do with kids, my kids call it's "peanut butter play doh " which is actually pretty accurate!

The traditional way to do buckeye ball will dip them in semisweet chocolate. I decided to mix things up a bit, and dip half of the balls in the semisweet chocolate and the other half in white chocolate and holiday sprinkles. You can either use chocolate chips with shortening, or just using melted candy, no shortening is necessary!

Ingredients :

• 1 tablespoon vegetable shortening
• optional: 1/2 cup holiday sprinkles
• 1/2 cup butter at room temperature
• 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar sifted
• 1 1/2 cups creamy peanut butter
• 8 ounces chocolate chips or candy melts/almond bark can be dark chocolate, white chocolate or both

Instructions :

1. Place the peanut butter, butter and powdered sugar in a large bowl. Mix until the ingredients are incorporated, then knead with your hands until a smooth dough forms.
2. Shape the dough into tablespoon sized balls and place on a sheet pan that's been lined with parchment paper.
3. Refrigerate the peanut butter balls for at least 30 minutes.
4. Place the chocolate chips and shortening in a medium bowl. If using 2 types of chocolate, place 4 ounces of each chocolate with 1 tablespoon shortening into 2 bowls.
5. Microwave the chocolate in 30 second intervals or until melted. Stir until smooth and thoroughly combined.
6. Remove the buckeye balls from the fridge. Use a toothpick to pick up each ball and and dip it into the melted chocolate. Quickly roll the ball in sprinkles if using (optional). Repeat with each ball. Use your finger to smooth over the top of each ball to remove the mark from the toothpick.
7. Refrigerate for 30 minutes or until set, then serve.