December 6, 2021

Peanut Butter Snowballs

What's Cookin Good Lookin - Homemade Food Ingredients - Christmas Cookies

Peanut Butter Snowballs

A delightful mix of sweet, salty,and creamy come together to make a holiday favorite. These will not only look very decorative on your Christmas cookie platter, but will be sure to satisfy everyone’s sweet tooth.

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Prep Time 45

Cook Time 20

Equipment

Mixing Bowl
Measuring Equipment (Tablespoon, Teaspoon, Cup, Scale)
Kitchenaid with Paddle Attachment (optional, but helpful)
Baking Sheet or Large Plate
Pot(s)
Stove Top

Ingredients

Filling

250 Grams Confectioner's Sugar (2 Cups)
320 Grams Peanut Butter, Creamy (1 1/3 Cups)
57 Grams Unsalted Butter, Melted (¼ Cup)
57 Grams Graham Cracker Crumbs (2/3 Cup)
1 Tablespoon Maple Syrup
1 Teaspoon Salt
3 Tablespoons Milk

Shell

300 Grams White Chocolate (2 Cups)
2 Teaspoons Coconut Oil
30 Grams Shredded Coconut (Optional) (¼ Cup)

Instructions

The Filling

In the mixer with a paddle attachment, combine powdered sugar, peanut butter, butter, graham cracker crumbs, maple syrup and salt. If you don't have a mixer, you can mix by hand in a bowl.
Mix ingredients until it starts to smooth out.
Add the milk a tablespoon at a time. The milk will help pull the ingredients together. Keep mixing until everything is fully incorporated.
Chill the mixture in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Once chilled, roll the filling into balls and place them on a baking sheet

The Shell

Double boil the white chocolate and coconut oil over medium-low heat. Be careful not to burn.
Once the chocolate is fully melted, reduced the heat to very low. Dip the peanut butter balls into the chocolate.
Put them on a wire rack or parchment paper.
Sprinkle shredded coconut over them (optional).
Let them sit in the refrigerator for about 10 minutes to set. The shells should harden by that point.
Store in an airtight container at room temperature or freeze them for longer storage.

Notes

*Makes about 2 to 3 dozen.

Peanut Butter Snowballs: Coconut or CocoNOT?

Making a tasty Peanut Butter Snowballs is not that hard. You just need to get the ingredients right.

Coconut based ingredients pop up twice in this recipe, once as a necessity and once as optional.

First, it is important to understand why it is important to add the coconut oil to the melted chocolate.

If you have ever made something like chocolate covered strawberries, you might have noticed that when the chocolate cools it becomes soft, tacky, mushy, and just a bit off. Adding coconut oil to the melted chocolate will help change its final properties, giving the cooled chocolate a harder form, one that is crispier.

For these cookies to turn out right, the outer shell needs a ‘snap’ when you bite into them. The coconut oil will help create this, so it is very necessary.

This is a cooking tip you can apply to many other sweets going forward.

The optional shredded coconut is an extra touch that adds a little more dimension to the taste. In keeping with the winter theme, you want to keep the outside white. There are limited options. You are unsure about adding the shredded coconut, you can split your snowballs into two groups, one with and one without and decide after trying both which type you think is better.

The Many Types of Snowballs

There are scores of different versions of snowballs floating around out there, and they can be quite different. Some variations, like the ones pictured above, are more akin to powdered doughnut holes. One type is not superior to another, just that can be radically different. This recipe is closer to something like a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup. Make sure you’re making the type you want before starting.