Chocolate-covered Peanut Butter Balls
2 cups of creamy peanut butter (regular, or reduced fat for the self-righteous)
½ cup of unsalted butter (although salted might be fun, too)
3 cups of crispy rice cereal (the well-known brand, or a good generic variety)
4 cups of confectioners’ sugar (notice how most holiday recipes include all the major food groups: fat and sugar)
2 cups of semi-sweet chocolate chips (because we don’t want them to be too sweet do we?)
Over a low heat, melt the peanut butter and the butter in a saucepan.
In a large bowl, mix the crispy rice cereal and confectioners’ sugar well.
Pour the melted peanut butter/butter mixture over the cereal and sugar, and lightly blend it all together thoroughly so the rice is uniformly coated.
Form the batter into 1 inch balls, and arrange them on cookie sheets lined with parchment paper. Chill them in the ’fridge until they are firm (overnight maybe, because you’ll be exhausted by now).
Melt the chocolate chips in a double boiler and, using a teaspoon, keep it melted as you dip each PB ball well into the melted chocolate.
Place each on a cookie sheet (lined with fresh parchment paper). Chill them until firm.
If you want to be precious about this, you can decorate the PB balls with sprinkles or gold leaf or whatever while the chocolate is still warm.
Or, if you want to show off, maybe drizzle white chocolate over the chilled PB balls.
Either way, they’ll be gone before you know it.