Peanut butter and chocolate is a combination as old as time itself.
I guarantee Jesus’ last supper was some combination of the two. The pharaohs praised peanut butter above all others, while the Aztecs pounced on its protein potential. The Greeks relied on chocolate to prolong their lives, the Incas preformed routine sacrifices to the Cacao Gods, and the Romans licked it off the bodies of young boys.* (#MeToo.)
These days chocolate and peanut butter is all the rage because not only is the flavor combination all kinds of awesome, Easter is right around the corner. Every other blogger and their mother is writing about peanut butter eggs this, chocolate bunnies that, and don’t even get me started on carrot cake.
We could pretend I didn’t want to miss out on the holiday food fun, but the real reason I’m sharing these beauteous bites today is because Aunt Flo came to town earlier this month and I had no candy, cookies, or chips in the house. The trifecta of C’s was absent, and I felt lost, alone, and abandoned in my hour of need.
So you see, these tasty morsels were borne out of sheer desperation; an overwhelming desire to eat all things sweet and salty. That and I had to make it from the limited supplies I had on hand, which is why there are only five ingredients in my peanut butter chocolate bites, including the seasonings. My math is strong.
Another dead giveaway is my decorating job. There’s no fancy frills here or even anything resembling a sweet sugar coated egg. It’s basically blobs of deliciously sweetened peanut butter covered in a haphazard, yet delightful, drizzle of semi-sweet chocolate and sprinkled with grains of sea salt. It’s heavenly and exactly what I needed last week.
*While I do enjoy history, I made all of this up. I have no idea what Jesus ate for his final meal and while the Romans definitely licked young boys, I’m not sure if chocolate was involved.
- 1 cup Peanut Butter (I love the Peanut Butter & Co "Smooth Operator")
- 1/4 cup Honey
- 1/2 tsp. Vanilla
- 2 pinches of Sea Salt, divided
- 1 cup mini semi-sweetened Chocolate Chips, divided (I prefer the Enjoy Life brand).
- Line a cookie sheet with wax paper.
- Combine peanut butter, honey, vanilla, and one pinch of sea salt in a medium bowl. Stir well, incorporating all of the ingredients together. Stir in 1/4 cup of mini chocolate chips. Once combined, scoop out approximately a tablespoon size of the mixture and roll into a ball using your hands and put on your cookie sheet lined with wax paper. Repeat until the mixture is gone. If mixture is too sticky, put it in the fridge for 10 minutes to harden slightly. Once all your balls are formed, put them in the freezer for 20 minutes.
- Melt the remaining 3/4 cup of chocolate chips in a microwaveable cup, for 20 seconds at a time until fully melted, stirring between each session. Drizzle the chocolate over the peanut butter bites or you can roll the peanut butter bites in the chocolate until coated. Sprinkle with remaining pinch of sea salt. Put back in the freezer for another 20 minutes.
- Store in an air tight container in your freezer or fridge (I prefer the former, although my Hubby prefers the latter).
- *Cook time is wait time.
What’s your favorite peanut butter chocolate dessert?
These look better than eggs in my book. I might have to try these with tahini and/or almond butter since that’s what I’ve got on hand. I’m sure JC and his friends would have had a whole new reason to celebrate if they had chocolate and nut butter with their wine.
Ooh they could be really interesting with tahini. I’m curious. Let me know if you try it.
Meghan recently posted…Simple, Sweet, and Salty Peanut Butter Chocolate Bites
Aren’t these wonderous little nuggets called “buckeyes” where you live? I might be comepetey wrong and it is Hawaii that calls them that and it has something to do with macadamia nuts…dunno, either way, I am all about anything mostly peanut butter, with a touch of chocolate, sweet and salty! And I’m on it right now because I don’t have even have to leave the house for a single item from the market.
They are called buckeyes here. Two points for you.
The best recipes are the ones where all the ingredients are already in the house!!
Meghan recently posted…Simple, Sweet, and Salty Peanut Butter Chocolate Bites
Ah…. my favorite combo! I love a Reeses. Or a Tagalong. Or just a scoop of PB on a square of dark chocolate. Mmmmm…
I’m willing myself not to make another batch of these because I’d eat them all in one day.
Meghan recently posted…Simple, Sweet, and Salty Peanut Butter Chocolate Bites
I need these in my life. Though they’re simple, they’re much fancier than my desperation “recipe”: a spoonful of peanut butter with a sprinkling of chocolate chips on top!
I have eaten your desperation recipe many times. I just pour the chocolate chips directly into the PB jar and go to town. 🙂
Meghan recently posted…Simple, Sweet, and Salty Peanut Butter Chocolate Bites
Is it bad that while reading this post I was singing “Chocolate salty balls” by Chef from South Park? Aaaannnnddd now it’s probably in your head too… Your’re welcome.
Ps these look and sound all kinds of delicious.
Jen @ Chase the Red Grape recently posted…Week in Review
Not bad at all. I had all sorts of dirty song lyrics in my head writing this. I showed amazing restraint didn’t I?!
Meghan recently posted…Simple, Sweet, and Salty Peanut Butter Chocolate Bites
peanut butter plus chocolate = best combination ever!
meredith @ cookie chrunicles recently posted…Recent Meals + Power Bowls + Food Links Of Interest
Yes! Agree 120%.
Meghan recently posted…Simple, Sweet, and Salty Peanut Butter Chocolate Bites
Yep. Simples at its best. Give me all the eggs.
Cora recently posted…Recent Eats and Easy Tempeh Bacon Recipe
You and me both. I could eat these all day, every day.
Meghan recently posted…Simple, Sweet, and Salty Peanut Butter Chocolate Bites
This looks awesome! I am just cutting down on the white sugar (as well as wheat and dairy – I hate it). Apparently, my stomach thinks it’s a good idea to keep me on my toes when everything else is super chill in my life. Simultaneously I do start to crave sweets for like the first time in years. These look like they would do the trick though! I bet Stefan would be a fan as well!
P.S. Thanks for the image of Roman debauchery that is now stuck in my head 😛
Juli recently posted…Week in Review – The One with all the Flowers
These would definitely do the trick since they have no white sugar (just honey, although I’m sure another sticky sweetener would work too) and no dairy or flour. Damn those stomachs for messing us up. Let me know what you think.
Meghan recently posted…Simple, Sweet, and Salty Peanut Butter Chocolate Bites
I think you should call these balls so I can get it on it. Simply the best. PB chocolate!
For you, they’re balls.
Meghan recently posted…Simple, Sweet, and Salty Peanut Butter Chocolate Bites
These look fantastic, who needs fancy drizzle. It all goes in one end and out the other anyway!! With chocolate and PB your eyes eat it the same regardless of the drizzle. Like mine just ate the shit out of these photos.
Brittany recently posted…Onward
Why thank you lovely. If you were here, I’d share.
Meghan recently posted…Simple, Sweet, and Salty Peanut Butter Chocolate Bites
It’s my greatest fear in life that almond butter and soy nut butter are not in fact as good as peanut butter and if so, that I will never know the deliciousness that is peanut butter. Sigh. But I guess since I will never know, I just have to settle for what I’ve got. And to me, almond butter and soy butter are pretty damn delicious. Even more so in this recipe I’m sure. Yummm.
Chelsea A recently posted…Date Sweetened Hot Chocolate
Full disclosure: Almond butter is just alright for me dawg. I have no idea about soy butter though because I’ve never had it, so we’ll pretend it’s the most amazing thing ever. Drizzle it in chocolate and we’ll never know.
Meghan recently posted…Simple, Sweet, and Salty Peanut Butter Chocolate Bites