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Chocolate Peanut Butter Caramel Balls

Chocolate peanut butter caramel balls are decadent, indulgent, and downright delicious. The fact that they’re a no-bake dessert makes this candy recipe a must make!

On my Monday Musings post this week, I mentioned that I failed at a cheesecake. It was disheartening. However, I still had a craving for some kind of dessert in the house. Enter these Chocolate Peanut Butter Caramel Balls. They are different then your traditional peanut butter ball because I added a hefty portion of creamy dulce de leche to the peanut butter mixture. One bite and I totally forgot about that cheesecake fail.

These little devils were almost a fail though. You see, instead of adding the dulce de leche to the peanut butter mixture, my first thought was to stick a little piece of caramel into the middle of the peanut butter ball. The result was a giant peanut butter ball with a hard piece of caramel in the center. AKA a horrible idea. So I removed all the pieces of caramel, stirred in the dulce de leche and voila. Little bites of peanut butter, caramel and chocolate heaven.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Caramel Balls - an easy no-bake candy recipe

A couple of tips for making the chocolate peanut butter caramel balls:

First, I used Adam’s Peanut Butter. The only ingredients are peanuts and salt. If you use a peanut butter that already has some sugar in it you are going to want to use less powdered sugar then the recipe calls for.

Second, I think it’s best to chill the peanut butter caramel mixture for a bit before forming the balls. It makes the balls easier to roll.

Third, just to aid in the rolling, I had a little plate of powdered sugar sitting next to me to press my hands into. It helps keep the peanut butter from sticking to them.

Finally, I am not a huge fan of using shortening to make chocolate harden. So I took to Twitter and I owe a huge thank you to Theresa at The Craving Chronicles for suggesting using coconut oil. It works perfectly. And for those of you that fear it will taste like coconut, it doesn’t.

chocolate peanut butter balls on orange plate.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Caramel Balls

Chocolate peanut butter caramel balls are decadent, indulgent, and downright delicious. They're a no-bake dessert, making this candy recipe a must make!
5 from 1 vote
Prep Time 2 hrs 30 mins
Cook Time 5 mins
Total Time 2 hrs 35 mins
Course Desserts
Cuisine American
Servings 40 Servings

Ingredients
  

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups creamy peanut butter
  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
  • 2 - 2 1/2 cup powdered sugar
  • 1 1/2 cups dulce de leche
  • 1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
  • 1 cup white chocolate chips
  • 2 tablespoons coconut oil
  • sprinkles

Instructions
 

  • In a mixer or in bowl mix together peanut butter, butter, 2 cups of powdered sugar and dulce de leche. Mix well. Taste, if it needs to be sweeter add the remaining powdered sugar. Chill mixture for thirty minutes.
  • Remove mixture from refrigerator and using a heaping teaspoon of the mixture, roll into balls. Chill for at least 30 minutes up to overnight.
  • Melt the semi sweet chocolate chips with 1 tablespoon of coconut oil. Melt the while chocolate chips with the remaining tablespoon of coconut oil.
  • Dip the peanut butter caramel balls into the chocolates. Sprinkle sprinkles over the top before candy hardens. Refrigerate for about 1 hour to allow the chocolate to harden.

Notes

Enjoy!
Tried this recipe?Mention @lifesambrosia or tag #lifesambrosia!
Keywords: buckeyes, dessert, dulce de leche, halloween dessert, no bake, no bake dessert, peanut butter, peanut butter balls, sweet, treat

Leave a Comment

Recipe Rating




  • Reply
    Tasha
    December 26, 2021 at 8:02 pm

    How much butter is used for this recipe? Is it a whole stick or half a stick? Kind of confused based on how it’s written.

    • Reply
      Deseree
      December 27, 2021 at 9:44 am

      Hi Tasha! I updated the recipe to fix that typo! Sorry! You’ll need 1/2 stick or 4 tablespoons.

  • Reply
    Francesca
    October 6, 2020 at 8:45 am

    5 stars
    I have salted chocolate melts! Can they be used rather than chocolate chips?

    • Reply
      Deseree
      October 6, 2020 at 9:13 am

      I don’t see why not! I don’t use melts that much will they harden on their own? If so you can skip the coconut oil. :)

  • Reply
    leana
    October 25, 2012 at 5:53 pm

    Thank you

  • Reply
    leana
    October 25, 2012 at 1:42 pm

    Question – do you need to use the coconut oil? These look great.

    • Reply
      Deseree
      October 25, 2012 at 1:54 pm

      Thanks Leana- No, you don’t need to use the coconut oil. You can simply use melted chocolate but it tends to melt a bit faster when left at room temp. You could also use shortening if you like.

  • Reply
    Chung-Ah | Damn Delicious
    October 24, 2012 at 4:16 pm

    I’m sorry for your cheesecake fail but these peanut butter balls are amazing! And I still would’ve totally gobbled these up with the hard caramel center!

  • Reply
    JulieD
    October 24, 2012 at 10:58 am

    These look fantastic!!

  • Reply
    Theresa
    October 24, 2012 at 10:03 am

    OMG what are you doing to me?! I have a jar of dulce de leche sitting in my fridge and I love PB and chocolate, so how am I supposed to NOT make these now? You owe me new (bigger) pants ;)

  • Des

    Hey! I'm Des!

    Welcome to Life’s Ambrosia where Dinner is served and memories are made. Here you will find over 1000 tried and true recipes for every possible occasion. In the last 10 years, this blog has helped millions of families put dinner on the table and create food memories. Let me help you too.

    Read more »

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