Peanut butter balls are typically one of those treats that are made during the Christmas holidays. But sometimes there are events that need to be given that much special attention too. Unfortunately these came to my mind to make for the family gathering after the memorial service for a very special woman - Craig's aunt Joyce.
The three sisters: June, Joyce and Dixie
I always held a special place in my heart for Joyce because I felt that she and I were alike in some ways. Only, she was much better at showing her love and compassion than I have ever been. She was a strong woman of faith, put her family as her top priority, was very strong in her opinions, kept lists and bins, travelled all over the world and spent more years than she would have liked in the middle of house remodeling projects. My girls loved her deeply, Craig loved her deeply and I loved her deeply. But even more than that - we all confidently know that she loved us just as deeply too.
So with that said, and now that I've wiped my still-fresh tears away, I will try to describe this recipe.
In my regular peanut butter ball recipe it is just the peanut butter and powdered sugar made into a dough that is dipped into chocolate. In this recipe from Gluten-Free Baking Classics by Annalise G. Roberts there is another ingredient that make an interesting surprise of texture; crispy rice cereal!
Being summer, it was a little harder to roll them all because it was so warm so I had to keep the bowl in the fridge and only do a few at a time. Then make sure they were very chilled before they were dipped; again only doing a few at a time.
The hardest part of making these is making sure they all get dipped and served to guests because they are just too easy to pop into one's mouth. Again and again, and again, and again. . . . . well you get the idea!
Chocolate Peanut Butter Balls
1/2 cup unsalted butter
18 ozs. smooth peanut butter
3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
2 1/2 cups gluten-free crispy rice cereal
16 ozs semisweet chocolate, chopped
Mix butter, peanut butter and sugar together in large mixing bowl of electric mixer. Beat until creamy. Add crispy rice cereal and mix until cereal is incorporated into dough. Chill until cold. Form into 1 inch balls and refrigerate 12 hours. In a double boiler or microwave, melt chocolate and keep warm. Dip balls in warm chocolate. Place on wax paper to cool. Refrigerate until chocolate hardens. Store in fridge in an airtight container. Serve at room temperature or slightly chilled.
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