Wednesday, December 5, 2007

Hand-dipped Peanut Butter Chocolates


It just isn't Christmas without making these delicious treats. I learned how to make these when we moved to a rural town when Ty was two years old. It is not as hard as you might think.

Cream together:
1/2 c. butter, room temperature
2 c. powdered sugar
Add:
1 c. peanut butter
2 tsp vanilla
Roll in balls, cool in fridge and dip in chocolate.

You'll need 1-2 lbs of chocolate. I like to buy Guittard Milk Chocolate by the pund during the holidays. Cut it into 1 inch chunks, melt and temper. Here's a link to Guittard's site with tips on how to properly temper your chocolate. I learned a few tricks and realized I had gotten lazy with my chocolate making.
I like to make these itty bitty chocolates, they're cute and you can just pop them into your mouth and there's no melty mess. You can use these dipping tools or a fork, but I prefer to have very clean hands and do it the old-fashioned way. One word of warning, do not get water in your chocolate - that would be disastrous. For best results, double dip your candies.

Check out Scribbit's Winter Bazaar for more Holiday craft ideas or pop by Summer's place for more Christmas treat recipes. If you missed last week, here's a recipe for Cathedral Windows

20 comments:

Chris said...

They look soooo good. Too bad my girl is peanut allergic :(

b. said...

Where'd you get your chocolate?

Shepherd's is my family. I worked there two years ago (helping out for the busy season), that was IN.SANE!!

But last I heard, they were shutting down. I think they closed their doors in October.

I wasn't sure where all those chocolate people were going to get their chocolate...

Am'n2Deep said...

Do my eyes deceive? b., weren't you just giving me a hard time for being up and posting so early? This new job of yours....I just don't know!

Anyway,

Chocolate and peanut butter-yum, AND easy to make! Again, thanks for all your good ideas.

Anonymous said...

B.,-my cousin is a Shepherd (married into the family) Do you know her-Cindy? We also love Annie. --Jan

Montserrat said...

I don't know of a more glorious combination than Peanut Butter and chocolate, except for maybe french fries and a chocolate shake. We'll have to try the recipe. We don't have dipping chocolate but we do have Guittard milk chocolate chips. Will those work? All of my year's supply of chocolate is Guittard. :D

Amber M. said...

I'm trying this onr FOR SURE...Holy yummy!

Mrs. O said...

Wow - it's like family connections on here today. Jan, if you're related to b. then you're related to Am'n.

I use Guittard and buy it in blocks from Macey's. When I make my Andes mints, I have a special source in Salt Lake who imports it from Germany. It is the best chocolate, but it's pricey.

I also have recipes for hand-wrapped cherry cordials and almond joys. Any takers?

And something is up with blogger - I didn't know half these comments were here, hmmmm...

Scribbit said...

They turned out so perfect-looking! My truffles are always a battle to get dipped properly. I'm all thumbs or something.

Elizabeth-W said...

That looks deeee-lish! I haven't ever done that sort of thing. I may have to try!

Pieces said...

Those sound (and look) fabulous! I just pulled an article from Cooking Light about tempering chocolate last night. Do you think it is a sign?

Kerith Collins said...

how yummy...i will have to make these with my choc. covered potatoe chips...those look so yummy!

b. said...

jan....yes! I've met Cindy, is she married to M?
Am'n and I are both related to the Shep's.
Annie is a scream, a hard worker, and knows how to crack that whip!

b. said...

ps. there's a place up in slc called orson gygi, I think they order chocolate. They were our (Shep's) competition. I heard that the company that moved into Shepherd's space is also going to keep buying chocolate. It's great stuff, but pricey, but worth it.

Lisa M. said...

Oh yum.

Very, very yum.

Anonymous said...

B., Yep-she's married to M. I just found out they're expecting :) Where do you and Am'n fit in? Small world! --Jan

Mrs. O said...

scribbit - I know the pb likes to melt when I use the dipping tools. I found that my hands work best, and produce the nicest looking results.

Am'n2Deep said...

Hi Jan, since blogger's on the fritz and b. might not be aware of your question, and I happen to be here now unable to sleep, I'm butting in! Our (mine and b's) mom's are sisters, and they are the links. Uncle B~(married to Aunt E~)Shep is our grandpa's brother.

I suppose I could have made that much more reader friendly...just keeping it somewhat anonymous.

Corrie, thanks for providing the family connection space today.

Somehow the fact that it happened on a post that involves chocolate and peanut butter doesn't surprise me.

dalene said...

You make it look so easy!

Yum!

Summer said...

Those looks wonderful. Maybe I'll make some for Hubby!

b. said...

yeah, what am' said.

M and Cindy are expecting? That warms my heart. I will keep them and that precious baby in my prayers.

Thanks Corrie. Sorry we highjacked your comments...