Karen Gordon: No-bake peanut butter desserts hit the spot

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No bake desserts are, in my opinion, simply the best desserts. Not only do they require no baking, they can be whipped up quickly.

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While no-bake recipes are great all year round, they are particularly handy in the summer when it’s too warm to turn on an oven.

Here’s one of my favourite no-bake peanut butter desserts. If you are a peanut butter lover, I’ll bet that you won’t be able to limit yourself to just one piece. My recipe for peanut butter balls are a delicious combination of sweet and salty, and creamy and crunchy.  Made with just a handful of ingredients, they require no-baking and can be whipped up in under 45 minutes, including chilling time.

These delicious morsels can be made with whatever peanut butter you have on hand — both smooth and crunchy peanut butter will work in this recipe, but I, personally, like them made with the smooth variety as it allows the unexpected crunch from the crispy rice cereal to come through.

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Once the peanut butter mixture is mixed up, they’re scoop up and rolled into bite-size balls and frozen for about 20 minutes. Once chilled, they are dipped in melted dark chocolate and topped with a light sprinkling of flaked sea-salt. Store them in an airtight container, in the refrigerator, for up to a week. Though if your family is like mine, you’d be lucky to find any left by the second day.

Note: For those with nut allergies or sensitivities, feel free to swap out the peanut butter called for in this recipe with any peanut butter alternatives.

Sweet and salty crispy peanut butter balls

¼ cup (57 g) butter

1 cup (240 g) smooth peanut butter

1 1/2 cups (170 g) confections sugar

1 1/2 cups (37 g) crispy rice cereal

1 cup (170 g) good dark chocolate, chopped

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1 teaspoon (5 g) coconut oil

flaked sea salt or coarse kosher salt

Add butter and peanut butter to a large microwaveable bowl. Microwave in 15 second intervals, stirring in between, until the peanut butter mixture is fully melted and smooth.

Add confections sugar and rice crispy cereal to the chocolate mixture and stir until fully combined.

Using a spoon and the palm of your hands, form one-inch balls. Place balls in freezer for 20 minutes or until chilled. Do not freeze the balls as they will cause the chocolate coating to crack.

In a medium-size microwaveable bowl, add the chocolate and coconut oil. Microwave at 50 per cent power for one minute. Remove and stir. Continue microwaving at half power in 30 second intervals, stirring in between, until the chocolate mixture is fully melted and smooth.

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Working in small batches of four to five balls, leaving the rest of the balls in the freezer, place one ball at a time into the melted chocolate. Using a folk, roll the ball and coat fully with the melted chocolate.

Once coated, lift the chocolate coated ball, tapping the fork against the side of the bowl to remove excess chocolate, and place the ball on a parchment lined tray. Repeat for the rest of the balls.

Once all of the balls have been coated, drizzle the remaining chocolate over the chocolate balls and lightly sprinkle with flaked sea salt or coarse kosher salt.

Refrigerate until balls are set, approximately 10 minutes.

Store Peanut Butter Balls in an airtight container, in the refrigerator, for up to one week. Enjoy.

Karen Gordon is as food blogger from North Vancouver who shares her latest recipe creations on Instagram at @karen.t.ology and online at Karentology.com.