Valentine’s Day Recipe: Chocolate & Peanut Butter Bon-bons
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This 40 year old recipe only got better with time!
photos: pamela irene for we heart this
Good news – I have another dandy of a recipe to share, and you’re gonna love this one for Valentine’s Day! Momma James (my mother-in law) finally broke down and taught us how to make her famous Chocolate and Peanut Butter Bon-Bons. No matter how stuffed we were, we always had room for these irresistible treats.
These are famous in our family and she gifts them to friends and family every year. Even better, you will only need a few ingredients to make these. So grab the kids and family to join in; these are fun and easy to make.
Momma James’ Chocolate and Peanut Butter Bon-Bons
Ingredients:
• 2 cups Laura Scudder’s Chunky Peanut Butter
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup butter, at room temperature
• 4 cups confectioners’ (powdered) sugar
• 1 bag (12 oz.) semi-sweet Chocolate – Ghirardelli’s
• 1 bag (11.5 oz.) dark bitter – Ghirardelli’s
• 1 tablespoon paraffin wax (optional)
Note: I’ve made some brand recommendations, but they can be substituted.
Instructions:
1. Line a cookie sheet with parchment or waxed paper. Set aside.
2. Place the butter, peanut butter, confectioners’ sugar and vanilla extract in mixing bowl. Using a heavy duty mixer, mix the ingredients until smooth.
3. Use a melon ball scoop or large spoon for scooping (you want about two teaspoons of mixture), than mold the mixture into a ball.
4. Place on cookie sheet and refrigerate for a good 35-45 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, melt the chocolate chips with paraffin wax (optional) in a large microwave safe bowl and microwave on high in 30 second intervals.
6. Stir with a spatula, scraping down the sides of the bowl, then heat 30 seconds more. Continue heating and stirring for 15-second intervals until the chocolate is uniformly smooth and glossy.
7. Remove the chilled peanut butter balls from refrigerator and dip each one into the melted chocolate. I use a toothpick stuck through the ball to carefully dip into the chocolate. You can also use a wire egg dipper.
8. Place each chocolate covered ball on a paper-lined cookie sheet, remove pick. Continue procedure until all balls are coated.
9. Refrigerate until chocolate is firm. About 2 hours.
This recipe makes about 60 bon-bons, unless you eat some while you make them! You can easily half the batch or double (even triple) the recipe.
Note: Do not freeze these treats. For freshness, it’s best to enjoy within a week of making – that shouldn’t be too hard.
These bon-bons make a fantastic gift – bundle them up with some red and pink wrapping and you will be the most popular person around this Valentine’s Day.
we heart this review team member Pamela Irene, our kitchen guru, lives with husband David in Orange County, CA and works in the management office at the ‘happiest place on earth’ – South Coast Plaza. She can also mix a mean cocktail and is the owner of the largest bath & body collection we’ve ever seen.
This is so not fair to post today. Been off of sugar for 11 days now and these look so good! Two of my favorite things…chocolate and peanut butter. Going to pin this recipe to pinterest so I can make it in the future. Yum!
I know what you mean.. sugar can be hard to stay away from. These can be a treat though when you are back to having some sugar! I’m toying with the idea of other ways to sweeten the batter -i.e. with palm sugar and stevia…but not yet..
btw, I would not want to live another day without Peanut butter and chocolate! The two go together like nothing else I know!
These remind me of something a friend of mine used to make, buck-eyes! But these look SO much better. Thanks for the recipe, @irene, I’m going to have to try these out this weekend!
Alyssa, you are going to flip! They are easy to make and boy, do they go down well with a glass of milk! I’m glad you’re going to try your hand at them. I think you’ll be glad you did! :)
YUMMIE!!
Guess where I am as I type this?? Momma James’ house and she just handed over the ingredients to make 2 batches of these! These are wonderful and will wow anyone who eats one! Please let me know if you do make them, I’m confident you will be the star of the show when you do! :)
I seriously want @irene to be my mom! Pam you are the queen of delicious treats!! Please fatten me up with these yum yums!!
Kellie, I’ve already said I’d be your MOM!! LOL! I would love to make these for you! I swear I could become a wealthy women if I only knew how to market them! I”m going to be making them this Sunday and my husband is helping since his Mom was the one who taught us! God Bless Momma “Dottie” James!
Wow thanks for sharing Momma Dottie’s guarded recipe with us, Pam! These look incredible – remind me of Buckeyes too – but do look even better. My daughter (and I) are gonna flip for these!!
@irene – Thanks for sharing your family recipe. Peanut butter and chocolate is my favorite combination. I really want to make this.
I am curious what the pariffin does in this recipe? What affect does this have on the chocolate?
Paraffin wax is often added to chocolates. The addition of paraffin to the chocolate candy gives it a nice, glossy finish and helps it remain solid at room temperature and to retard moisture loss and spoilage. Waxes are made from vegetable oils, palm oil derivatives. Be aware that paraffin is flammable when overheated, so warm it gently in a double-boiler to the point where it is melted. Yes, it is edible but not needed if you keep them in the fridge as we do..
Peanut butter and chocolate is one of my favorite combos too! This seems nice and easy and only has a few ingredients… Maybe I’ll make a batch for my office for Valentine’s Day. Otherwise I’ll eat the whole batch myself.
@irene — You had me at “40-year-old recipe”…I love heirloom recipes, they are the BEST. You know they have to be incredible for people to keep making them after 40 years :) I’ll be trying these out SOON! Thanks for sharing!
I just knew you’d want to do this one Krista! We love making them. Even the ones that don’t come out looking perfect after they’ve been dipped still taste amazing! Just have fun with it! :)
I’m pretty sure I eat 40 of these – one for each year it’s been around.
@irene – we’re making these next time I see you!
Okay dokie @stef! :)
@irene these look AMAZING and decadent! chocolate peanut butter is a huge favorite of mine (and many others – it’s an easy crowd pleaser) . I will be bookmarking this for sure :)
@Stef, Please note to readers that more chocolate may be needed for making this. I used about half of an additional bag of chips last night to cover missed areas and about 10 bon-bons! I also used some of that to cover english walnuts and almonds! Yummy!
I grew up making these EVERY Christmas. My grandmother (and, therefore everyone after) called them Buckeyes. The only problem? Once made I can’t keep my hands off of them! I keep them in the fridge, so the wax isn’t really necessary, but it’s handy for gifting when you don’t want a crazy mess. Thanks for sharing @Irene !
We made them Sunday without the wax too.. They are eaten way to fast and I don’t see that it’s needed either unless they are left out of the fridge for longer periods of time..