Peanut Butter Pretzel Truffles

These are one of my favorite truffles.  I love the salty sweet combo of the pretzels and chocolate paired with the peanut butter creamy center.  It's just so stinkin' good.  This quick treat is perfect for when you want something to satisfy the sweet-salty cravings but don't want to bake or spend a lot of time on them.  There is the chilling component which means you can't just make these and eat them right away, but they don't require a lot of hands-on work.  So you can just use those hands to pop them into your mouth.

These were one of the first truffle recipes I decided on because they just sounded so good.  I love treats packed with all sorts of flavors, so this one surely would be a winner.  Then, since I knew I'd be sharing a tray of assorted truffles and needed some way to tell them apart, I topped each of these with a dry roasted peanut, identifying them as peanut butter (versus the chocolate chip cookie dough truffles from yesterday). Marisa at Make Happy came up with a real winner in these truffles, using pretzels in lieu of rice krispies that some recipes call for.  I love that swap since I'm a huge pretzel fan, including the chocolate covered kind.  If you don't need to differentiate these truffles from other chocolate dipped ones, there's no need to include the peanut.  But it does make them look a little interesting.

Peanut Butter Pretzel Truffles

Ingredients

1 1/2 cup pretzel sticks
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1 Tablespoon butter, softened
2 Tablespoons brown sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
3 Tablespoons powdered sugar
12 ounces milk chocolate candy coating
1/4 cup dry roasted peanuts

Crush pretzels in to small pieces either in a mini chopper/food processor or in a zip top bag with a heavy item, like a mallet or rolling pin.  Set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine peanut butter, butter, brown sugar and salt.  Stir until smooth.

Add the pretzels to the peanut butter mixture and stir to combine.

Stir in powdered sugar until incorporated.

Using a small cookie scoop, scoop out balls of the mixture, and lightly and quickly roll in hands to create as even and smooth a ball as possible.  Arrange on a waxed paper, parchment or Silpat lined baking sheet. 

Freeze truffle balls for about an hour.  

While dough freezes, melt chocolate in a melting pot, double boiler, or using a microwave on low power for short periods of time.

Dip each truffle into the chocolate to coat, removing with a candy dipping tool or a fork and gently tapping off any excess chocolate.  Transfer to lined baking sheet to set.  Note: If chocolate begins to clump or harden while you dip, reheat to melt, stirring often, before continuing to dip truffles.  Top each truffle with a peanut before the chocolate sets.

Chill truffles on sheet until set.  Store in an airtight container, chilled, for up to a week or freeze.

Makes 2 dozen truffles.

Happy Baking,
The Cookie Princess

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