Crunchy Peanut Butter Truffles

 

Recently the dermatology residents and I got together to make holiday gift packages for the 45 physicians, nurses, techs, and employees of the dermatology department. It was a little bit of a daunting task, trying to organize the packaging, the list of what treats we wanted to include, and all those ingredients (mostly consisting of peanut butter, butter, and sugar…but, hey, it’s the holiday season, right?)  I started a couple of weeks in advance, selectively going through my lists of to-do treats from other blogs and from my recipe books, trying to come up with economical and somewhat straightforward holiday goodies to include in each bag.  And, knowing that I have a kitchen that lacks in organization and counter space, I knew I had to make the best use of my time and space by preparing as much in advance as possible.  I have been out of town for about 50% of this month so far, interviewing at jobs all over the country, so my life lately has been nothing short of hectic and stressful.

This was one of my favorite bits from the holiday goodie bags this year.  It’s like the traditional buckeye candy, but with the additional crunch of cornflake cereal (Rice Krispies would be ok in this as well).  I simply threw everything together in a big bowl, gently rolled each ball, and refrigerated them overnight.  The rest was simple.  This past weekend, several of the residents came over and worked in assembly-line form to roll the chilled peanut butter balls in melted chocolate.  Then Aelayna got crazy with some melted white chocolate and added the  cute decorative swirls on top.  I popped them back in the fridge, and then added them last minute into the goodie bags the night before we distributed them.  They seemed to be a big hit.

If you are a chocolate and peanut butter fan, this is the holiday treat for you.

 

Crunchy Peanut Butter Truffles

Servings: approximately 60 1.5-inch truffles (I had extra leftovers-please feel free to cut this recipe in half.  What I have listed here is for a large batch of 60)

Ingredients

2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature

4 cups cornflakes cereal, crushed

4 cups creamy peanut butter

4 cups dry milk

4 cups powdered sugar

2 lb milk chocolate (I used Merckens Milk Chocolate Bar from King Arthur Flour…this was incredible.)

 

Instructions

1. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil.

2. In a medium saucepan over low heat, melt the butter and set aside.

3. In a large bowl, combine the cornflakes, peanut butter, dry milk, and powdered sugar, mixing well.

4. Add the melted butter to the ingredients and mix well (feel free to use your hands at this point.)

5. Moisten your hands with water and, one at a time, roll the mixture into 1-inch to 1.5-inch balls and place on the baking sheet.

6. Chill overnight or until firm.

7. In a heatproof bowl set over simmering water, melt the chocolate.

8. Using a fork, lightly dip and roll each truffle back onto the baking sheet.

9. Chill until ready to serve.

 

Source: Bon Appétit, via Epicurious.