Put Some Snap! Crackle! Pop! Into Your Candy - Crispy Almond Butter Balls

This is an OLD family recipe, though not a secret by any means. Just something that my mom use to make when we were kids, that I am really hungry for. Originally made with Crunchy Peanut Butter, I have opted for Almond Butter with Sea Salt due to the amount of persons I know who are allergic to peanuts. You could even use Sunflower Seed butter or Hazelnut Butter if you like; though Cashew might be a little questionable, not sure bout that one. Just be sure that the "Butter" you are using does not contain any sugar like JIF, Skippy and Peter Pan; which are LOADED with it already. When made with peanut butter, they are very similar to Reese's Peanut Butter cups, only round and with crispy rice in them... YUM!

I use to love making these when I was a kid. Aw heck, I will be honest. I just liked dipping them in chocolate, or rather, eating spoonfuls of melted chocolate when my mom wasn't looking. Yeah, I was a little stinker back then... Not that a whole lot has changed since I reached adulthood. ;)

The real reason I am making these though, is because I got a new toy to play with. A chocolate melter pot. Hopefully this will solve the issue of overheating the chocolate and having it UN-Temper and never harden properly. (We always had to store these in the refrigerator when I was a kid, to keep the chocolate from getting soft and gooey) And I can think of no better use for Rice Krispies than this, aside from a large bowl doused with half & half for breakfast.

So come on over and join me in the fun, along with Snap, Crackle, & Pop!

Crispy Almond Butter Balls

8 oz (226 g) Unsalted butter
17.5 oz (496 g) (about 2 cups) Creamy Almond Butter
1 lb (453 g) Confectioners' sugar (a whole entire box of C & H Powdered Sugar)
2 oz (57 g) (about 2 rounded cups) Rice Krispies (or other toasted rice cereal; not puffed)
16 oz (453 g) Milk Chocolate for dipping (just like Reese's Peanut butter cups)

Place butter and peanut butter in the top of a double boiler/Bain Marie;

Stir until melted.

Work in half of the Confectioners' sugar.

Remove from the heat and fold in the remaining Confectioners' sugar.

Fold in the Rice Krispies.

Using a small spoon or scoop, scoop out 2 tsp of the filling and press it into a 1 inch ball.

When you are finished, you will have about 72-76 balls; Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight.

Line the counter or a baking sheet with waxed paper, then place down a cooling rack.

In a double boiler melt 16 oz Chocolate:
If you are using Semi-Sweet, do not heat above 110 degrees
if you use Milk, or White, do not heat above 100 degrees.
Or, if you have a chocolate melter, follow the instructions that accompanied your unit.

This is where I get to play with my new toy... :)
Mine says to melt 4 oz of chocolate on setting #2 (please not the coffee I had to consume to stay awake... Watched chocolate never melts)

Then turn to setting #1 to keep it warm and add the remaining 4 oz of chocolate (I assume this is somewhat like "seeding" the chocolate) The residual heat of the melted chocolate will cause the added chocolate to melt

Dip each Crispy Almond Ball, in the chocolate,

letting excess drip off.

Place each dipped Peanut butter ball onto the cooling rack (you want to keep the "foot" as small as possible.)

If chocolate is not setting fast enough, place baking sheet in refrigerator.

Store in an air tight container in refrigerator for 2 weeks.

Mangia!!
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A Cookie From the Peanut Gallery - Peanut Butter Cup Cookies

This is my favorite peanut butter cookie recipe with a twist. Ever since I experienced Spryte's Rolo Cookies, I have been obsessed with wrapping cookie dough around delicious morsels of yumminess. This was part of the reason that Barry White Cookies came into being. I have done this one time before, but I didn't blog about it back then. I am going to up the ante on standard peanut butter cookies Oh yeah Baby... I am talking about havin' em filled with Reese's Peanut Butter cups.
Yeppers, you read that right. Mini Reese's Peanut Butter Cups wrapped in delicious Peanut Butter cookie dough.

This gives the cookies just a hint of chocolate, but not too much... and the sweetened peanut butter center is just plain awesome! This recipe makes 29 - 30 cookies. So Never Fear!! There will be a few Peanut Butter cups left over for the cook to munch on. Oh Yeeaaahh!

My peanut butter of choice, for peanut butter cookies, is always Adams Crunchy. Though it is a little hard to find this far south, but it's the one that I grew up on, in the big 5lb tub. We kids ate A LOT of peanut butter toast with honey before heading out in the cold morning to take care of the animals before school. So it's pretty much my staple peanut butter.

As an added bonus, the ingredient list is simple... Peanuts, and 1% or less, salt..

No Palm oil, Hydrogenated Coconut oil, Sugar, or HFCS.... Peanuts, the way it should be. All the good fats and none of the guilt. :)

Peanut Butter Cup Cookies

1/2 cup Unsalted Butter; Room Temperature
1/2 cup Peanut Butter
1/2 cup Granulated Sugar
1/2 cup Brown Sugar, packed
1 Large egg
1/2 tsp Vanilla extract
3/4 tsp Baking Soda (this slows down spreading, and makes them a little crisper)
1/4 tsp Kosher salt
1 3/4 cups AP Flour
1 12 oz Package of Mini Reese's Peanut Butter Cups

Cream butter, peanut butter, and sugars until light and fluffy.

In a separate bowl, whisk Baking soda, Salt and Flour; set aside.

Mix in Egg and vanilla into the creamed mixture.

Add Flour mixer, stirring to combine.

Chill dough, covered, 30 minutes.

Unwrap your mini Reese's Peanut Butter cups.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees (175 C)
Scoop out about 1 TB of the cookie dough

and wrap around the cup. (try to remember which side of the peanut butter cup is the top and which is the bottom)

Place on a parchment lined baking sheet, with what would have been the top of the peanut butter cup, facing down, so they spread properly.

Place hatch marks on the tops with a fork (cause this is just what you are suppose to do to peanut butter cookies)

Bake until edges are very lightly browning (about 10 to 13 minutes).

Let rest on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before cooling completely on a wire rack.

Enjoy with a nice cup of coffee.... You cannot see it, but my French Press is in the background brewing up a batch of that deliciously dark ambrosia... ;)

Mangia!!
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