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These peanut butter balls are an old-fashioned treat! Enjoy them as-is, roll them in a variety of toppings, or dip them in chocolate for a sweet holiday treat.

Tissue paper-lined tin filled with peanut butter balls rolled in rainbow nonpareil sprinkles, chopped nuts, and powdered sugar.

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If you weren’t already in the holiday baking mood, it’s now officially holiday cookie season!

I love to make platters of traditional Christmas cookies like peppermint mocha cookies, gingerbread cookies, and peanut butter blossoms. But I also like to make some old-fashioned treats that aren’t quite cookies, but fit in perfectly on a holiday cookie platter.

I’m talking recipes like rum balls or bourbon balls, peppermint oreo balls, or these old-fashioned peanut butter balls.

These simple no-bake treats are always fun to make and make everyone nostalgic for the days of baking with their grandmas.

A cup of espresso set on a white plate next to two peanut butter balls. One ball is cut in half.

WHAT ARE PEANUT BUTTER BALLS?

This recipe is for what many would consider to be old-fashioned peanut butter balls.

If you have never had this sweet treat, these are soft balls of peanut butter that can be eaten on their own, rolled in a variety of toppings, or even dipped in chocolate for chocolate-covered peanut butter balls.

They’re sort of like the peanut butter equivalent of homemade truffles

Since they’re so fun and festive, they make a great addition to a holiday cookie tray in place of peanut butter cookies.

Butter and peanut butter mixed in a white mixing bowl.

HOW TO MAKE THESE PEANUT BUTTER BALLS

These peanut butter balls use just a small handful of ingredients to make a treat that can be enjoyed in a lot of different ways. 

And since this is a totally no-bake recipe, it’s a great one to get the kids to help with! If they enjoy getting their hands messy, they’ll enjoy helping you mix up the batter and roll the balls.

Dough for peanut butter balls being stirred with a spatula in a white mixing bowl.

Ingredients you’ll need

All of the ingredients for my peanut butter ball recipe are things that I keep in my fridge and pantry at all times:

Unsalted butter: Butter plays an important role in these peanut butter balls for both texture and flavor. If you forget to set your butter out ahead of time, check out my tips for how to soften butter quickly.

Creamy peanut butter: You can’t make this recipe without peanut butter! You will need creamy peanut butter for this. I recommend using a no-frills, standard peanut butter or a no-stir natural peanut butter. Don’t use the kind that is just peanuts – the texture is not quite smooth enough for these balls.

Vanilla extract: You can use your favorite brand of pure vanilla extract or homemade vanilla extract for this recipe.

Powdered sugar: We’ll use powdered sugar to sweeten the peanut butter balls and to help them hold together. If you find you ran out of powdered sugar, learn how to make powdered sugar that you can use as a substitute.

Salt: We’ll need just a pinch of salt to help balance out the sweetness of this recipe.

Rolled peanut butter balls on a parchment-lined sheet pan.

Making this recipe

To get started, line a half sheet pan with parchment paper. Make sure you have space in your refrigerator for the pan.

Using your stand mixer or an electric hand mixer, beat together the butter, peanut butter, and vanilla until well combined.

Turn the mixer to low speed and gradually add the powdered sugar and salt. Mix until combined, then increase the speed to medium and beat for about 2 minutes. The dough will be like a very soft cookie dough.

Peanut butter ball being rolled in rainbow nonpareil sprinkles on a white plate.

Use a small cookie scoop or a measuring spoon to measure out 1 tablespoon portions of the dough. Roll each into a ball and place them on the lined baking sheet.

As your hands get messier, the balls may not be perfectly smooth, but that’s ok. We’ll fix that later!

Place the pan with the peanut butter dough balls in the refrigerator for 1 hour.

Once the dough has chilled for an hour, the balls will have set up enough that you can quickly roll them again between your palms to smooth them out. 

Now it’s time for the fun part: toppings!

Parchment-lined sheet pan with peanut butter balls rolled in nuts, powdered sugar, and rainbow nonpareil sprinkles.

TOPPING SUGGESTIONS

You can always enjoy these peanut butter balls as-is, without rolling them in any toppings, but I think the toppings are what make them extra delicious and fun.

Some of my personal favorites are:

  • Finely shredded coconut
  • Nonpareil sprinkles (try using festive colors for the holidays!)
  • Finely chopped nuts
  • Powdered sugar

You can also dip them in chocolate or even colored candy melts. Try dipping them only part of the way to make buckeyes

White platter filled with peanut butter balls rolled in chopped nuts, rainbow nonpareil sprinkles, and powdered sugar.

STORAGE AND FREEZING

These peanut butter balls will soften quickly at room temperature, so store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.

I recommend placing a piece of parchment paper or wax paper between the layers if you have to stack them to prevent them from sticking together.

Keep the balls chilled until you’re ready to serve them.

Five peanut butter balls rolled in a variety of toppings on a white plate. One ball has a bite taken out of it.

Can you freeze these?

These are one of the best holiday treats to make ahead of time and store in the freezer.

Place them in an airtight container and freeze for up to a month.

Because they don’t take long to thaw, you can simply pull them out of the freezer just before serving. In fact, I think they are extra delicious straight from the freezer!

Five peanut butter balls on a white plate. Toppings on the peanut butter balls include rainbow nonpareil sprinkles, chopped nuts, and powdered sugar.
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Old-Fashioned Peanut Butter Balls

By: Jamie
4.67 from 6 ratings
Prep: 20 minutes
Chill Time: 1 hour
Total: 1 hour 20 minutes
Servings: 36 balls
These peanut butter balls are an old-fashioned treat! Enjoy them as-is, roll them in a variety of toppings, or dip them in chocolate for a sweet holiday treat.

Ingredients

  • ½ cup unsalted butter room temperature
  • 2 cups creamy peanut butter
  • 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
  • 4 cups powdered sugar sifted
  • ¼ teaspoon kosher salt

Optional toppings:

  • Powdered sugar
  • Finely shredded coconut
  • Nonpareil sprinkles
  • Finely chopped nuts
  • Melted chocolate

Instructions 

  • Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
  • In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed, combine butter, peanut butter and vanilla and mix until thoroughly combined.
  • Turn the mixer down to low speed and gradually add in the powdered sugar and salt and mix until combined.
  • Turn mixer up to medium and beat for about 2 minutes.
  • Use a small cookie scoop (about 1 tablespoon) to measure the dough. Roll each scoop into a small ball and place onto prepared baking sheet. The balls may not be perfectly smooth – this is ok.
  • Refrigerate dough balls for one hour.
  • If necessary, roll the chilled balls quickly in your palms to smooth the outsides.
  • If desired, roll the balls in finely shredded coconut, powdered sugar, nonpareil sprinkles, or finely chopped nuts. Balls can also be dipped in chocolate for chocolate-covered peanut butter balls.

Video

Notes

Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days or in the freezer for up to a month. Balls will soften quickly at room temperature, so keep chilled until ready to serve.
Helpful resources:

Nutrition

Serving: 1ball, Calories: 161kcal, Carbohydrates: 17g, Protein: 3g, Fat: 10g, Saturated Fat: 3g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g, Monounsaturated Fat: 4g, Trans Fat: 0.1g, Cholesterol: 7mg, Sodium: 78mg, Potassium: 82mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 15g, Vitamin A: 79IU, Calcium: 8mg, Iron: 0.3mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

4.67 from 6 votes (6 ratings without comment)

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