Peanut Butter Toffee Truffle Balls

These little devils are ridiculously simple and divinely delicious! Seriously, make them. But you might want to make plans to give them away, at least some. Your thighs will thank you. That is unless you have a metabolism similar to my husband's. In that case, save the whole batch for yourself.

Peanut Butter, Pretzel, and Toffee Bon Bons
from www.melskitchencafe.com

*These bonbons can be made up to three days in advance. The peanut butter pretzel filling can be made and formed into balls and frozen for up to 2 months before dipping.

*Makes about 10-12 dozen bonbons

8 tablespoons butter, softened to warm room temperature

2 cups powdered sugar

2 cups peanut butter

1 cup toffee bits

2 cups chopped/crushed pretzel sticks (I used the twisty kind. I simply put them in a ziploc and smashed them with my meat pounder)

1 pound chocolate--semisweet, milk, bittersweet (I used one 12 oz bag semi-sweet chocolate chips and it was perfect)

2 tablespoons shortening or butter

Toffee, chopped nuts, chocolate jimmies for garnish

In a large bowl with an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar together until evenly combined. Add the peanut butter and mix well, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Stir in the toffee bits and pretzel pieces by hand with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula.

Line a large rimmed baking sheet (12X18-inches or several smaller baking sheets) with parchment or waxed paper. Roll the peanut butter mixture into 1-inch or so (it doesn't have to be exact) balls and place them on the lined baking sheets. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and freeze for 15-20 minutes until firm. At this point, the balls can be transferred to a sealed container or freezer ziploc bag and frozen for up to 2 months.

Meanwhile, melt the chocolate and shortening/butter together in a microwave-safe bowl or in a double boiler until completely melted and smooth (taking care not to overheat the chocolate as that can cause white streaks, bloom, to appear in the hardened chocolate).

One by one, toss a formed peanut butter/pretzel ball into the melted chocolate and using a fork, cover the ball with chocolate. Lift the covered bonbon out of the chocolate with the fork and tap the lower stem of the fork (right above where the rectangular tined fork part ends) on the edge of the bowl to let excess chocolate fall through the tines of the fork. Scrape the bottom of the fork along the edge of the bowl and transfer the covered bonbon to a parchment lined baking sheet (you can use the same baking sheet(s) used for freezing the balls if you have room). Set the bonbon very close to the parchment paper and using a second fork or butter knife, gently scoot the bonbon off the fork onto the baking sheet. Immediately sprinkle your garnish of choice on the top of the wet chocolate before it sets.

Roll em up and freeze them.

Dip in chocolate and sprinkle with goodness.