Peanut Butter & Chocolate

There are few foods as comforting as peanut butter and chocolate. When combined into a decadent truffle, well, it's difficult not to eat the entire batch. This recipe by Anne Thorton is a sweet display of affection for someone special or a nice holiday treat.

Ingredients

• 2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar (powdered sugar)
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter (1/2 a stick), melted
• 3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 11.5 ounce bag milk chocolate chips
• 2 ounces semisweet chocolate chips (1/3 cup)

Directions

• Combine sugar, butter, peanut butter, vanilla, and salt in a bowl and beat well with a hand-held mixer or a wooden spoon. Line a cookie sheet with tin foil or wax paper. Roll the peanut butter mixture into 1-inch balls and transfer to the lined cookie sheet in a single layer. Freeze until firm, about 20 minutes.
• Melt milk chocolate in a small heatproof bowl set over a small pot of simmering water, stirring often. Remove pot and bowl together from heat. Take bowl off of heat and allow the chocolate to cool down until it is at about body temperature.
• Working with about five peanut butter balls at a time, and keeping the rest in the freezer, insert a toothpick all the way through the center of a ball. Submerge the entire ball into the melted chocolate. Twirl toothpick between your finger and thumb to swirl off excess chocolate and transfer to another lined cookie sheet. Slide out the toothpick, and with a small spoon cover up hole from toothpick with milk chocolate and repeat the chocolate coating process with remaining peanut butter balls and chocolate, reheating chocolate if necessary.
• Freeze peanut butter truffles until firm. Melt semisweet chocolate over a small pot of simmering water, stirring often. Remove pot and bowl together from heat, and allow to cool down slightly. With fork drizzle truffles milk chocolate truffles with semisweet chocolate, making lines going up and down and side to side so looks like a grid. Return to freezer until set. Truffles will keep well in a sealed plastic container up to 2 weeks in refrigerator or a month n the freezer. Serve at room temperature or chilled.