No Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Balls
These no bake chocolate peanut butter balls feature a special ingredient—crushed pretzels—that give them a burst of saltiness and crunch. And with only 6 ingredients, they come together almost as quickly as they’ll disappear!
Equipment
- large bowl
- small bowl
- small food processor (optional)
- spoon
- parchment paper
- baking sheet or plate
- measuring cups
- measuring spoons
Ingredients
- ½ cup creamy peanut butter (see Note)
- ⅓ cup almond flour
- ⅓ cup thin pretzel sticks (see Note)
- 3 tablespoons maple syrup (see Note)
- 2 tablespoons coconut flour
- ⅔ cup nondairy dark chocolate chips
Instructions
- Prep: Line a baking sheet or large plate with parchment paper.
- Crush the pretzels: In a small food processor, pulse the pretzel sticks a few times until they break into smaller pieces but are not ground completely into dust. If you don’t have a food processor, snap them into smaller pieces by hand or roughly chop them on a cutting board with a knife.
- Mix: In a large bowl, stir the peanut butter, almond flour, pretzel sticks, maple syrup, and coconut flour until combined. The resulting mixture will be slightly sticky, with a dough-like feel.
- Roll: Using your hands, roll the dough into balls roughly 1¼ inches in diameter and place them on the prepared baking sheet or plate. You should end up with 12 balls.
- Chill (round 1): Transfer the baking sheet or plate to the freezer for 10 minutes.
- Melt the chocolate: In a small bowl, melt the chocolate chips in the microwave on high in 30-second intervals, stirring after each interval. For me, this takes between 1 minute 45 seconds to 2 minutes. Alternatively, melt the chocolate chips in a small pot on the stove over low heat, stirring frequently.
- Dip: Remove the balls from the freezer and dunk them one at a time into the melted chocolate, then return them to the baking sheet or plate. The bottom half will be coated in chocolate, with a round section of the peanut-butter-and-pretzel filling exposed at the top. Stop here if you prefer these treats to resemble traditional buckeyes. For all the chocolate lovers out there, keep going! Use a spoon to scoop chocolate over the top of each ball and smooth the edges.
- Chill (round 2): Return the baking sheet or plate to the freezer for another 10 to 20 minutes to firm up. Serve slightly chilled or at room temperature.
Notes
- Creamy, runny peanut butter works best with this recipe.
- I prefer 3 tablespoons of maple syrup, as I find it to be just sweet enough without being overpowering. Additionally, the resulting mixture is the perfect consistency for rolling into balls. If you prefer a sweeter taste, feel free to add up to 1 additional tablespoon of maple syrup. The mixture, however, will stick to your hands more, making it slightly more difficult to roll into balls.
- Any thin pretzel sticks will work—the key is to use a thin, delicate kind that can be easily snapped into smaller pieces by hand or with a food processor. I reached the ⅓ cup amount called for in this recipe by roughly breaking them into pieces with my hands and transferring them to a ⅓ cup measuring cup until they reached the top. Then, I chopped that amount in the food processor.
- Store any leftovers in the fridge for 4 to 5 days, or in the freezer for up to 1 month.