These shockingly easy peanut butter balls require just 5 ingredients in the filling. Follow all my success tips for dipping into chocolate and use the video tutorial as your guide. These candies are as soft as chocolate truffles and as irresistible as peanut butter cups!
I’ve been making these peanut butter balls for years. I actually have two variations—I published peanut butter M&Ms truffles a few years ago and buckeyes in Sally’s Candy Addiction. Buckeyes are a common treat in Ohio. They’re like peanut butter balls but only partially dipped in chocolate so they resemble nuts from a buckeye tree. My friend lives in Cleveland and introduced me to them 15 years ago. The BEST!
Today we’re completely enrobing the soft and creamy peanut butter filling inside rich chocolate. Obviously the combination of peanut butter and chocolate is enough to convince you and obviously this is exactly what you need to make next. It’s always nice to have an easy no bake treat (that literally everyone will hoard) to share with your other Christmas cookies! And since there’s no flour needed here, peanut butter balls are also a wonderful option when it comes to gluten free dessert recipes.
Honestly the Best Peanut Butter Balls (Truffles!)
And here’s why:
- Soft + creamy
- Easy with no baking involved
- Pure peanut butter cup flavor
- Only 6 simple ingredients
- Freeze beautifully
Go ahead and double this recipe. It’s scary how quickly 32 PB balls disappear. Ahh!
Peanut Butter Balls Video Tutorial
Ingredients in Peanut Butter Balls
- Butter: You can use salted or unsalted butter. No need to adjust the added salt in the recipe—I promise these won’t be too salty even if you use salted butter.
- Peanut Butter: Peanut butter is the main ingredient. For best texture, use processed creamy peanut butter such as Jif or Skippy—what I recommend for peanut butter blossoms and peanut butter cup tart, too. I do not recommend natural style peanut butter for this recipe because the filling will be too dry and crumbly. You can use natural style peanut butter in these peanut butter cookies though, if you have a jar that needs using!
- Vanilla Extract: Vanilla adds luxurious flavor. Of course!
- Salt: Salt offsets the sweetness.
- Confectioners’ Sugar: Confectioners’ (powdered) sugar binds everything together and adds sweetness. Without this powdery sugar, the peanut butter filling would be liquid.
- Chocolate: Use pure baking chocolate or chocolate melting wafers. (I love the Ghirardelli brand melting wafers!) Do not use chocolate chips because they do not melt properly—great for chocolate chip cookies, but not so great when we need smooth, melted chocolate like in this recipe. Pure chocolate is sold in 4 ounce bars in the baking aisle. I usually use semi-sweet, but milk chocolate, bittersweet chocolate, or even white chocolate work too. You can use all of these same chocolate options when coating Oreo balls or cookie dough truffles, too.
Think of these no bake candies as peanut butter bars in truffle form. My peanut butter bars have a bit more substance from the graham cracker crumbs. These peanut butter balls, on the other hand, have a purely creamy peanut butter filling. (And they’re even more wildly delicious than they sound, I swear.)
How to Make Peanut Butter Balls
- Beat the filling ingredients together. The filling will be crumbly and look dry, but I promise it will come together with your hands as you roll the balls.
- Roll into balls. Use a Tablespoon scoop to measure 1 scant Tablespoon each. Roll into balls with your hands.
- Chill the rolled balls for 1 hour in the refrigerator. Freezing them works too, but frozen peanut butter balls are difficult to coat in chocolate because the chocolate will slide off or crack. No shortcuts here, just refrigerate for 1 hour or up to 1 day.
- Dip in chocolate. All my success tips below!
- Let chocolate set. Refrigerate the dipped truffles for 30 minutes or until chocolate has completely set.
These peanut butter balls keep well for up to 2 weeks in the refrigerator, but that’s honestly a joke. There’s no possible way they will last that long! To freeze the peanut butter balls, let the chocolate set, then arrange in a freezer-friendly container in layers between parchment paper. Freeze the candies for up to 3 months.
Dipping Peanut Butter Balls in Chocolate
If you follow my recommendation and use pure baking chocolate or chocolate melting wafers, dipping peanut butter balls in chocolate is a breeze. Whenever I dip chocolate truffles, Oreo balls, or peanut butter balls, I always use this spiral dipping tool. Place the peanut butter ball in the chocolate and lift it out with the dipping tool. Quickly flip it upside down on the lined baking sheet. You can see how I do this in the video above.
If you don’t have a dipping tool, use the same method we use to dip peanut butter eggs. Simply use a fork to lift the dipped ball out of the chocolate and use a toothpick (or another fork) to slide the ball off the fork onto the lined baking sheet.
Chocolate Dipping Troubleshooting
- Chocolate is too thick: 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil thins out the chocolate so it’s the best consistency for dipping. If you find your chocolate is still too thick, add a little more vegetable oil. Coconut oil works too, but I recommend vegetable oil.
- Chocolate isn’t smooth: It’s too thick. You want thinned out chocolate. See above.
- Chocolate is hardening before I’m finished: This is an easy fix! First, make sure you are working quickly. Second, keep the chocolate fluid by re-heating in the microwave for 10 seconds or use a double boiler. If you don’t have a double boiler, spoon the chocolate into a glass bowl set over a pot of simmering water. This keeps the chocolate slightly warm. Don’t let the water touch the bottom of the bowl.
- Peanut butter filling is sticking: If the peanut butter filling is sticking to the dipping tool or fork, it’s actually too cold. Let the peanut butter balls sit for a few minutes at room temperature. The chocolate could also be too hot. Let it sit for a few minutes to slightly cool down, then try again.
Wait until you taste them straight out of the refrigerator. Have you ever had a cold Reese’s peanut butter cup? It’s like that, but better.
More Peanut Butter + Chocolate Recipes
- Peanut Butter Blossoms
- Scotcheroos
- Peanut Butter Cup Tart
- No-Bake Cookies
- Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Monster Cookies
- Peanut Butter Cupcakes
- Peanut Butter Chocolate Swirl Cookies
Peanut Butter Balls (Truffles)
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes
- Yield: 32 truffles
- Category: Desserts
- Method: No Bake
- Cuisine: American
Description
Using only a few simple ingredients, these peanut butter balls come together in a snap. Follow the recipe closely and review the chocolate dipping success tips and video tutorial above, as well as the recipe notes below before beginning.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (8 Tbsp; 113g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 cup (250g) creamy peanut butter (not natural style)
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 3 cups (360g) confectioners’ sugar
- three 4-ounce semi-sweet chocolate bars (339g), coarsely chopped*
- 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
- optional: sprinkles
Instructions
- Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Set aside.
- With a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium-high speed in a large bowl until creamy and smooth, about 2 minutes. Add the peanut butter and beat until combined, about 1 minute. Add the vanilla extract, salt, and confectioners’ sugar and beat on low for 2 minutes until everything is combined. The mixture is supposed to be a little soft, yet very crumbly. (Don’t worry, the warmth of your hands will bring it together.)
- Roll peanut butter dough into 1-inch balls (about 1 scant Tablespoon or 18g of dough each) and place on the baking sheet. Keep working and rolling the dough in your hands until the peanut butter balls come together. You should have about 32-35 balls total.
- Cover and chill the shaped peanut butter balls in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour and up to 1 day. During the last few minutes of the chilling time, begin melting the chocolate and oil together. You can melt it in a double boiler or the microwave. If using the microwave: place the chocolate and oil in a medium heat-proof bowl. I recommend using a liquid measuring cup because its depth makes dipping really easy. Melt in 20 second increments in the microwave, stirring after each increment until completely melted and smooth. Let the warm chocolate sit for 5 minutes to slightly cool before dipping.
- Remove peanut butter balls from the refrigerator. Working with 1 at a time, submerge into the chocolate, then carefully lift out using a fork or the spiral candy dipping tool. Tap the fork/tool gently on the side of the bowl/measuring cup to rid excess chocolate. If you used a fork, use a toothpick or a 2nd fork to help you slide the ball off of the fork and onto the baking sheet. If you used the dipping tool, just invert the ball onto the baking sheet. (See video tutorial above for how I do this.) If you have leftover chocolate, reheat it and drizzle on top of the truffles. Top with sprinkles, if desired.
- Refrigerate peanut butter balls for 30 minutes or until chocolate has completely set before serving.
- Store in an airtight container at room temperature for 2 days or in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: You can start this recipe 1 day ahead of time. The shaped peanut butter balls can be chilled in the refrigerator for up to 1 day prior to coating. The coated peanut butter balls can be frozen. Freeze the coated candies for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Baking Sheet | Silicone Baking Mat or Parchment Paper | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Double Boiler or Liquid Measuring Cup | Spiral Candy Dipping Tool
- Peanut Butter: This recipe was updated in 2022 to include more peanut butter for better flavor (from 3/4 cup to 1 cup). While it’s great for cooking and eating, natural style peanut butter isn’t ideal for peanut butter balls. The filling will be too dry and crumbly. I do not recommend crunchy style peanut butter for that same reason. It’s too thick and the filling will be too crumbly.
- Chocolate: For the best looking and tasting peanut butter balls, use 4 ounce “baking chocolate” bars found in the baking aisle. I prefer Bakers or Ghirardelli brands. You need about 3 four ounce bars for this recipe, 12 ounces total. You can use semi-sweet chocolate, milk chocolate, bittersweet chocolate, or white chocolate. Candy melts, chocolate dipping wafers (such as Ghirardelli brand) or almond bark work too. Do not use chocolate chips, as they contain stabilizers preventing them from melting into the correct consistency for coating.
- Coating/Melting Chocolate: See all my troubleshooting tips in the post.
- I do not recommend tempering the chocolate for this recipe. Tempered chocolate should not be refrigerated and due to the fresh ingredients in the filling, these candies must be refrigerated.
Keywords: chocolate, peanut butter cup, candy, no bake dessert
Hi!
I was just wondering if the chocolate can be melted in a regular pot, as I don’t have the double boiler or a large measuring cup. If it can be done, what temp would you suggest / time? 🙂 thanks!!
Hi Ashley, you can follow the microwave directions for any deep microwave safe bowl that you have. Enjoy!
;; I would just take any small sauce pots you have. Even those little pots that hold like 3 cups. And with the lowest heat possible. Throw in the chopped chocolate. I like to grate mine to save even more time. Then just stand there and stir.
★★★★★
Made the balls tonight, coating them in the morning after they are well chilled. They have a great taste. They did turn out a bit more crumbly and would not come together to roll at first (most likely a touch too much sugar or a measurement on my part) I added about a tablespoon is corn syrup to smooth a bind, and an extra pinch of salt to temper that sweetness. I liked the consistency just a bit better. And going to roll them in a dark chocolate. Will definitely use the recipe again
★★★★
Can I use milk chocolate instead of semi
Thank you
Sure can, see the recipe note about chocolate.
Ok, I’ve made the peanut butter balls and they are chilling. I was surprised at how easy the mixture was to roll into balls. It was crumbly just as the recipe stated but easily rolled into balls. I only have chocolate chips. Can I use them? My son and his wife made a special request for these cookies. Too far to go to the store. Fingers crossed!
★★★★★
Hi Mary, Unfortunately, chocolate chips won’t melt as well as pure baking chocolate or chocolate melting wafers.
I use Ghirardelli milk chocolate chips when I make these. No problem with them setting. If you go to their website it tells you to use 1 1/2 Tablespoons of vegetable oil for I2 oz. Of chips. Works great every time!
I have been gifted many variations of peanut butter balls and, well, they were thrown away. I found your recipe, and so I made yours when I was making cookies. These are so good. I was going to take some to my potluck but my dad said no, I am still taste testing them. I used baker’s semi-sweet chocolate with some holiday sprinkles. Again, these pb balls are delicious and worth making over and over…..
I made these at school with my students. I used chocolate almond bark for dipping. Some of the candies wept, for lack of a better word. It at first looked like a tiny water drop, but continued to seep. I used Jif creamy peanut butter. Ever had this happen?
This can happen especially if it’s humid. Storing in the refrigerator helps. (Were they in the refrigerator doing this?)
Can these sit out during the day at room temperature ? Id like to share them at work but not sure if the the chocolate will just melt.
Hi Danica, yes! Store in an airtight container at room temperature for 2 days
Followed the recipe exactly but found these quite dry and extremely sweet, my guess is there is too much icing sugar. Maybe you’re supposed to gently spoon icing sugar rather than scoop? Either way, definitely go with weight rather than cup size!
★★★
Hi Nina, Thank you for trying this recipe. Yes, when measuring dry ingredients (like flour and confectioners’s sugar) you should always use the “spoon and level” method. Scooping will lead to using too much. For more details you might find this post on How to Measure Ingredients helpful!
I would like to add graham crackers to this recipe – in essence, your peanut butter bars but in ball form. Would you change the amount of other ingredients? Thanks!
Hi Jodi, you can definitely try replacing some of the confectioners’ sugar with graham crackers for a taste more like our no-bake peanut butter bars. Let us know how it goes!
Could you make these (or any of your other peanut butter recipes) substituting Sunbutter for the peanut butter (due to peanut allergies)?
Hi Heather! Absolutely. Use the same amount in this recipe. We haven’t tested that swap in all of our peanut butter recipes, but it should be a fine substitute in most cases!
I love this recipe.. Thank you so much. I am on my 4th time making them and this time I must quadruple my recipe. I am very excited to see how fast they sell at my pta bake sale in a few day.. I follow your recipe just the way you have it for anyone who is wondering. It has been making me famous in my family lol.
★★★★★
I made these for our daughters wedding which will be in May. I am just hoping that they are not all eaten before the big day! They are very good, and I found them easy to make, dip, and are even better after standing overnight. Thanks for a great recipe.
★★★★★
They did not make it to the wedding, but were very much enjoyed by the fortunate ones who did get them!
are you able too substitute coconut oil for butter ?
Hi there! While solid coconut oil could be an adequate substitution, I fear it would have an overpowering flavor in these peanut butter balls. Let us know if you give it a try!
I followed the recipe exactly, and it turned out perfect. The perfect consistency to roll into a ball. If others have had trouble With it being too creamy perhaps they are using oily peanut butter. I used creamy Skippy.
★★★★★
While I was making the peanut butter part i noticed it was getting really sweet. So I only put 1 3/4 cups of powdered sugar, and for the texture and the flavor i added around 4-5tbs of peanut butter powder. It was great!
★★★★★
Thanks for your reply. I will try this method!
Hi Sally, I have made this recipe numerous times and these are delicious. Was wondering if I don’t have time to dip, can I freeze on a baking sheet, then put in a ziploc bag in freezer to dip later? If so, how long would I need to thaw? I know they can’t be too cold when dipped or it will cause problems. Thsnks.
Hi Becky, we haven’t tested this method but don’t see why it wouldn’t work. Thaw the frozen balls in the fridge overnight before dipping.
These were AH-MAZING!!! I quadrupled the recipe since I was making lots of different goodies at Christmas for 14 coworkers and friends. EVERY SINGLE PERSON raved about these peanut butter balls. Several asked me for the recipe (I copied the link and sent it to them).
Thanks for a winner! I’ll be making these every year from now on. 🙂
★★★★★
Maybe it’s just my taste but I thought it was much too sweet and needs more peanut taste, I used Jif creamy peanut butter and Ghiradelli dark wafer chocolate. Even the color of the filling is way too pale. I am always pleased with sally’s recipes so I tried this one but this recipe was way off for me. Too much sugar.
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Hi Dolly, thank you for trying this recipe. Something that can work– if you ever try them again– is replacing some confectioners’ sugar with graham cracker crumbs. They’re sweet, of course, but not as sweet as sugar. They will help the filling hold shape, too.
So happy I used this recipe! They turned out great and I’ll be making them every Christmas now.
★★★★★
Absolutely fabulous. Makes a great gift for someone special.
I added a little more peanut butter, and just a little almond milk to pull the filling together – much easier to roll! Thanks for sharing your recipe!
I can’t wait to try making these, thank you so much, the Video was very helpful
★★★★★
My family loves these peanut butter truffles. Tip: I wear the medical style gloves on my hands to roll the mixture into balls and there is no sticking!
My husband made these today and even though he chilled them, once out of the fridge they are super soft. Any suggestions?
I really love this recipe but I have a question, can I use three ounces of unsweetened chocolate for the last part, I am three ounces short with the semi sweet chocolate, and I need to give them as a Christmas present to someone tomorrow, thanks , and I ADORE your blog!
Hi Emma! Thank you so much. Using 3 ounces of unsweetened chocolate with 9 ounces of semi-sweet should be just fine. It will be a nice dark chocolate on the peanut butter balls. (Hope I’m understanding your question clearly.)
I made them with the three ounces of unsweetened chocolate instead of the semi sweet chocolate, my ENTIRE family LOVED them. We thought they tasted even better with the unsweetened chocolate! Thx so much!
I don’t quite have enough semi-sweet chocolate, I’m approximately three tablespoons short. Can I use unsweetened chocolate for those three tablespoons? This recipe is absolutely delicious, but I’m missing the chocolate and I’d really like to make this as a Christmas present for someone.
★★★★★
I love this recipe. My personal modification is taking a cup of pretzel stick, coarsely grinding them in the food processor, then adding to the peanut butter batter. In essence, making peanut butter, pretzel, chocolate balls. I also reserve some finely ground pretzel “dust” to sprinkle on top once they are coated with chocolate.
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Do you adjust any other part of the recipe or just add crushed pretzels?
Thanks, Traci
Hi Sally. Planning on making these to add to my Christmas cookie trays. Can I use canola oil instead of vegetable?
Hi Mary, I hope these are a hit. Yes, you can use canola oil to help thin the chocolate instead of vegetable oil.
Sally your blog is one of my favorites, I love all of your recipes. However I have been making these for about 30 years with a recipe from my mother-in-law. I have found it to be the best. She added Rice Krispies and used Jiff chunky peanut butter. They are outstanding and we are known for them. Just thought you might want to try!
This is how my family has always made them as well! Yum!
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