Halloween falls on a Tuesday this year, which means there’s a good chance of costume parties this weekend. If you’re the host, and need a quick and easy treat that speaks to the season, this Halloween version of the popular peanut butter truffle known as buckeyes is sure to be a hit. Crafted from a creamy mix of peanut butter, butter and confectioners’ sugar and covered in melted chocolate, these edible eyeballs are fun.
Peanut Butter Eyeballs
Makes 36 eyeballs. Adapted from allrecipes.com
1 cup creamy peanut butter
½ cup unsalted butter, softened
2-2½ cups powdered sugar
1 bag (12 ounces) white chocolate chips
2 tablespoons solid vegetable shortening
1 tube each red, white and green decorating frosting
36 M&Ms
Stir peanut butter and butter in a medium bowl until smooth. Gradually add confectioners’ sugar until thick and smooth. Mixture should be thick and easy to roll into balls.
Line baking sheet with waxed paper. Shape mixture into 36 1-inch balls. Place balls on prepared baking sheet and refrigerate about 1 hour or until firm. Meanwhile, melt white chocolate with shortening over a double boiler until smooth. Carefully drop chilled peanut-butter balls into chocolate to coat, and scoop them out with a fork, letting excess drip off through the tines (don’t puncture the eyeballs). Return them to a waxed-paper-lined baking sheet; refrigerate until set.
Squeeze frostings into separate zip-top bags. Snip a very small corner from each bag. Pipe red frosting lines from center out for veins; pipe a dot of green frosting on top. Place M&M in center and pipe a white line on one side of it. Refrigerate until served.
