Day 11 of 24 Days of Christmas

Hello Everyone,

It's the 11th Day of my 24 Days of Christmas Projects and recipes. We can't forget the recipes because they are goodies that you can make and give away as gifts. I love making goodies, especially this time of year and giving them away to my friends and family. So today's recipe is Buck Eyes or what's also known as Peanut Butter Balls which is what I call them. These are my favorite and can never get enough of these around Christmas time. So here's the recipe so that you can enjoy them too. Don't forget after putting them in some kind of fancy dish or container that you remember to put a tag on it. Don't forget you don't have to go all fancy on them with the tag either because they are going to love these.

Peanut Butter Balls

3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 cups confectioners' sugar
1-1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 Tbsp vegetable shortening

Blend peanut butter, butter, salt and confectioners' sugar together in medium bowl with an electric mixer on low speed. Mixture will be stiff. Line sheet pan with wax paper. Roll peanut butter mixture into small, bite-size balls, about 3/4 inches round. Refrigerate until set; about 30 minutes. Place chocolate chips and shortening in top of double boiler with remaining water in the bottom. Melt ingredients over medium low heat; blend well. Remove from heat. Insert wooden pick into top of chilled peanut butter ball. Dip into melted chocolate, leaving only the top 1/4 of peanut butter ball uncovered for typical buck-eye (if you wish). Place coated side on prepared sheet pan. Repeat until all pieces are coated. Refrigerate until chocolate is set, about 30 minutes. Place in airtight container; keep refrigerated until ready to serve.

Options for chocolate, instead of melting chocolate chips and using vegetable shortening you could also use a block of chocolate that you can just melt using the microwave and dip and place on your wax paper. It will only be a couple of minutes or so before the chocolate dries.

If you have any questions please don't hesitate to leave me a comment and I will be happy to answer them.

Happy Crafting and Baking Everyone,
Kat