Peanut Butter Buttercream Truffles

I am absolutely in love with See's Candy, especially their buttercream truffles. I'll eat almost every flavor of buttercream truffles (with the only exceptions being because of flavors I'm not fond of in general). So, in an effort to use up a giant jar of chunky peanut butter my grandmother gave me after she bought it accidentally (both of us use/eat creamy peanut butter in everyday use), I decided to try to make my own peanut butter buttercream truffles.

For the buttercream center, I used a modified version of Wilton's Peanut Butter Buttercream Icing. The main differences are that I was lackadaisical about measuring the powdered sugar (I actually measured out three cups pre-sifting, but after sifting that amount was closer to four cups. And I'm not sure my hand mixer could have handled any more powdered sugar in the mix, anyways.), and that I omitted the milk at the end.

The shell was simply melted down almond bark from the store (in the baking isle), with some sprinkles to give them a festive touch. I made these for Halloween, but you can make them for any occassion by just using whatever sprinkles you want.

I dipped my candies using two plastic spoons. One spoon was kept in the chocolate and used to pour chocolate over the center and to lift it out of the bowl, and then it was rolled onto the second spoon to get off excess chocolate, then deposited on wax paper with the second spoon. There are other methods for dipping out there, so feel free to use your favorite one!




The Recipe

Ingredients
1/3 cup solid vegetable shortening
1/3 cup butter
3/4 cup peanut butter (chunky)
1 tsp vanilla extract
3-4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
1 24 oz package almond bark (You'll only need 18 oz at most, though.)
Sprinkles as desired

Directions
Using a mixer, blend the shortening and butter together. Add the peanut butter and vanilla and blend. Add the powdered sugar one cup at a time until it becomes stiff. (It will reach the upper limit that a hand mixer can mix, if you're using one.) Cover and let chill a couple hours. (It will last in the fridge several days, though, so it's easy to make ahead.)

Use a small cookie scoop to scoop one-inch balls onto a wax paper-lined baking sheet. Once you've scooped them out, go back and compress and roll each ball so that they're a single solid mass and won't break apart while dipping.

Melt the almond bark according to package directions. Start out with 12 oz first, then melt more as needed. Dip the centers in the chocolate one at a time and replace on the wax paper. Immediately sprinkle on decorations if desired, because the shell will set up very quickly.

Let the chocolates set on the counter until the shells are completely set. I gave it overnight just to be completely sure. Then enjoy!

Yield: About 4 dozen.