Reese’s Peanut Butter Balls – bite-sized morsels of amazing Reese’s-like peanut butter filling dipped in a thin coat of milk chocolate. A quick, easy no-bake treat that can be enjoyed in any season!
What better way to show some love this Valentine’s then by giving (sharing 😉 ) delicious homemade chocolates? Check out these Homemade Peppermint Patties or scrumptious Almond Butter Truffles too? This Reese’s Copycat Peanut Butter Balls recipe will be perfect for the Reese’s lovers in your life. These little morsels of sweetness have an amazing peanut butter center and are packaged in a thin chocolate-y coating. They are so quick & easy to make (no-bake style) and are sure to spread the love, because a batch of these babies makes over 100 chocolate balls (depending on how big you make them).
As you may already know from a few of my prior posts, my family makes homemade and hand-dipped chocolates every year. Usually around the holidays. Time crept up on me and before I know it, the holidays were over and I hadn’t shared this recipe. No worries though because what better holiday to share this peanut butter lovers dream then around the holiday of love, Valentine’s Day. So, that’s just what I’m doing.
If you like this candy recipe, you may also like these:
- White Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups
- Soft, Chewy Homemade Caramels
- 3-Ingredient Jingle Bell Fudge
- Old English Almond Toffee
- Homemade Peppermint Patties
- Almond Balls with butter truffle filling
Why is this version of peanut butter filling like “Reese’s” the best?
Growing up, my mom and aunt would make a similar version of this delicious peanut butter center they would hand dip around the holidays. This kind has always been a favorite and is one of the first to be eaten off the candy platter. I’ve tried many recipes that are similar with variations like graham crackers, Rice Krispies or other additives to give it a crunch. This recipe is hands down, still my favorite. My secret… ground dry roasted peanuts. It makes all the difference. Really!
If you ready the ingredients list on the back of a Reese’s peanut butter cup package, there are no graham crackers, rice krispies, etc. This recipe only has butter, sugar, peanut butter and roasted peanuts. The roasted peanuts are what gives this recipe the Reese’s like quality.
How easy are these Reese’s peanut butter balls to make?
SO EASY!
The ingredients are simple. I took pictures of a double batch I made so it looks like a TON because it was. The recipe below will be for half this.
First, mix the butter and creamy peanut butter together. Make sure you are using creamy and not crunchy. The peanut chunks in crunchy peanut butter are too big (at least in my opinion). Once the butter and peanut butter are mixed add the ground peanuts. I like to use my Blendtec, but you can use a food processor, to finely chop the dry roasted peanuts (make sure they are dry roasted otherwise you’ll end up with a glob of homemade chunky peanut butter rather than finely chopped peanuts). The little bits of peanuts are what makes this recipe so amazing. It provides an added peanut butter-y flavor and nice crunchy texture like Reese’s has.
Once the peanuts are all mixed in, add the powdered sugar a little at a time until the peanut butter mixture turns into a dough. It shouldn’t be sticky to the touch but hold together when gently squeezed. If it is too sticky, add a little more powdered sugar, 1/4 cup at a time.
How do I make these balls consistent in size and shaped like a ball?
Once all the powdered sugar is mixed in and the filling is ready, use a cookie scoop to measure the balls. This will give you a fairly consistent size.
I like my chocolates to be bite-sized, not two- or three-biters. The smallest scoop I’ve been able to find is 0.25 fl/oz with equals about 1 1/2 teaspoons. I fill the scoop not quite full to make the ball about a teaspoon big. If made to be a teaspoon big, this recipe will make around a 100 balls, give or take. If you don’t have a scoop or would like to roll and cut them yourself, you can. Take 1/4 of the dough and roll into a 1/2-3/4 inch log (like a snake). Cut into 1/2-3/4 inch pieces. Roll until smooth.
How do I coat these Reese’s peanut butter balls with chocolate?
Once the balls are rolled, chill for 1-2 hours. This will help the chocolate coating set and harden more quickly. Dip each ball into melted chocolate using a fork, thin spatula, spoon or in your hand. Set dipped ball on a piece of clean waxed paper or parchment paper to cool. Make sure the peanut butter center is completely covered or it will weep. Oils from the center will leak out. This doesn’t affect the flavor but makes them look not as pretty or appetizing.
That’s it. You are officially a Chocolatier in my books!
What’s your favorite candy to make?
I’d love to hear about it. Leave me a comment!
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OP: 1.6.17 Updated: 12.18.18
Hi Janice. If you’re using salted butter, I’d go for unsalted or lightly salted roasted peanuts but if regular dry roasted SALTED peanuts are all you have or could find, that will be fine. The most important thing with the peanuts is that they are DRY ROASTED. Dry roasted peanuts don’t have the extra oil on the outside that will turn them into peanut butter when blended.I hope this helps. Enjoy!
The dry roasted peanuts used for this recipe, are they salted/seasoned or unsalted? Thanks.
Hi Hilda! Yes, confectioners sugar and powdered sugar are the same things. I’ve tried and tweaked this recipe to get the same consistency and flavor you find in a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup. My family used to make peanut butter balls (or truffles) with no added peanuts but the consistency wasn’t right. We also tried adding graham crackers but that just changed the flavor. This recipe is the closes I’ve had in making a homemade copycat Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup. If you prefer a sweeter, smooth peanut butter center you can definitely only use powdered sugar (confectioners sugar) and smooth peanut butter. Have a great day and Happy Halloween!
It does help but a woman l use to know put Confectioners sugar and peanut butter in hers and they were really good.
Hi CAT! You can find the full printable recipe here –> https://kitchencents.com/reeses-copycat-peanut-butter-balls/2/
Great question on chocolate. I use milk chocolate wafers but you can also use dipping chocolate (typically found at specialty kitchen stores or sometimes you can find it at the grocery store around the holidays) or chocolate chips. Most milk chocolate will melt around 85-95 degrees. You should be able to dip your centers in any of the listed types of chocolate listed above without having to add additional oil or fat but if you feel your chocolate is too thick after melting, you could add a little vegetable or coconut oil. Just be careful. When you add oil it can change the consistency of the chocolate AFTER it has hardened (using vegetable oil which is liquid will soften your hardened chocolate.
I hope this helps. Thanks for stopping by!
Did I miss something? Recipe ingredients don’t include the final one, the chocolate. How much to use, what kind of chocolate is recommended for best consistency, etc. Would you recommend just melting chocolate chips? Add any butter or cream to that for the right consistency?
oh yes please! i love peanut butter, those look amazing
if I made these, my husband would eat every single one before the day was over. Peanut butter is his weakness. Maybe for valentines though 🙂
Thanks Logan!
Thanks Kit!
Great idea! If you’re not a peanut butter fan, almond butter would make for a great alternative.
I love peanut butter balls I make them every xmas. I also do Oreo balls and chocolate chiop cookie dough balls & peanut butter cups (all made basically the same way) Thanks for sharing.
These look great! I’m thinking of trying them with almond butter. Thanks for sharing!
AMAZINGGG. I wonder if there’s a way I can make these lighter with PB2. I’m sure it’d sacrifice the taste a bit, but still satisfy my cravings?
Omg can we say yum?!? I just love peanut butter!!! I must give your recipe a try
These look so yummy! Chocolate and Peanut butter is one of my favorite treat combinations!
Wow! This is absolutely looks so yummy This is what I need right now a comfort food for my stress. I would love to try this on my own
These look so scrumptious and I know that my husband would love them. I’m planning on baking him all kinds of goodies for Valentine’s Day – I think these just made the list!
My kids would eat all these at once or I would. 🙂 They are my favorite combination of chocolate and PB.
Oh my goodness these look AMAZING!!! And simple enough for me to be able to make without much experience making chocolate truffles. Love it! Also love how you have other great recipes that are eye catching at the bottom of the post!
OH! I need to make these for my son who is a Reese’s PB fanatic!! How delicious do these look?
Yum! These look delicious! My grandmother makes a similar recipe every year at Christmas. They are so yummy!
I just pinned this because Reese’s anything and I’m in!!! thank you for sharing this recipe. My daughter will love it!
I am literally drooling looking at these tasty treats! I want to try to make these this weekend! I love peanut butter and chocolate and cant wait to dive in!
I have a slight addiction to peanut butter cups! Like I actually have to ban them from my house I eat way too many of them!! I would make this and it all in like 2 days!
Reeses are one of my favorite candies that I like to indulge in. Thanks so much for showing me how I can make these in bulk at home!
*Drooling* These look so good! My husband is a huge reese’s fan and so I need to make these for him for Valentine’s Day! I love how I can make a ton of these with this recipe and so making I’ll make double and hand them out to my husband’s coworkers too! Thanks so much for this recipe! I can’t wait to try it!
Peanut balls are so good when homemade, i have decided i am not really a fan of reeses anymore, but the ones you make from scratch are delicious!
Oh I am going to have to make these for my reese peanut butter cup loving hubby! I hope mine look as nice!
Peanut butter and chocolate some of my favorite things!! These look so good, what a great dessert to make up!
I make peanut butter balls every year for the holidays. They are always a hit, and one of my favorites!
Ohh… I love chocolate and peanut butter. If I weren’t on a diet, I’d made these babies today! Saving the recipe for later!
I just made a date with the couch and a bowl of these!!! I’ll have to hide them from my reese’s-loving husband!
I just want to jump into that dough! Yummy! These are my daughter’s favorites. My nephew makes them for her at Christmas. This year he said he was afraid to come home without them!
Man, I really wish we weren’t allergic to peanuts at our house, these looks delicious!
I’m not a big fan of Reeses peanut butter cups, but I LOVE peppermint patties so will definitely be making that recipe!
Oh my gosh this looks so good! My friend always talks about Oreo balls but I know she is a huge fan of Reese’s so I will definitely have to surprise her with these!
I am in heaven right now. Reese’s are my kryptonite, so I am definitely going to be making these.
Thanks Jessica!
I could eat this with every meal and be just fine with life! They look fantastic.