Peanut Butter Toffee Pretzel Truffles

*Makes about 10-12 dozen truffles
INGREDIENTS:
4 TBS butter, softened to warm room temperature
1 cups powdered sugar
1 cups peanut butter
1/2 cup toffee bits
1 cup chopped/crushed pretzel sticks
1/2 TBS shortening or butter (I used canola oil)
Toffee, chopped nuts, crushed pretzel, or chocolate jimmies for garnish, optional

1.  In a large bowl with an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar together until evenly combined. Add the peanut butter and mix well, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Stir in the toffee bits and pretzel pieces by hand with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula.

2.  Line a large rimmed baking sheet (12X18-inches or several smaller baking sheets) with parchment or waxed paper. Roll the peanut butter mixture into 1-inch or so (it doesn’t have to be exact) balls and place them on the lined baking sheets. (To make dipping easier I put a toothpick through the ball.  Cover loosely with plastic wrap and freeze for 15-20 minutes until firm. At this point, the balls can be transferred to a sealed container or freezer ziploc bag and frozen for up to 2 months.

3.  Meanwhile, melt the chocolate and shortening/butter/oil together in a microwave-safe bowl or in a double boiler until completely melted and smooth (taking care not to overheat the chocolate as that can cause white streaks, bloom, to appear in the hardened chocolate).

4.  One by one, toss a formed peanut butter/pretzel ball into the melted chocolate and using a fork, cover the ball with chocolate. Lift the covered bonbon out of the chocolate with the fork and tap the lower stem of the fork (right above where the rectangular tined fork part ends) on the edge of the bowl to let excess chocolate fall through the tines of the fork. Scrape the bottom of the fork along the edge of the bowl and transfer the covered truffle to a parchment lined baking sheet (you can use the same baking sheet(s) used for freezing the balls if you have room). Set the truffles very close to the parchment paper and using a second fork or butter knife, gently scoot the truffles off the fork onto the baking sheet. Immediately sprinkle your garnish of choice on the top of the wet chocolate before it sets.  (I used the toothpicks I inserted into the balls to dip in the chocolate when the chocolate was pretty set up I removed the toothpick and used a spoon to lightly cover the toothpick hole with chocolate and sprinkled garnish on wet chocolate.)(I didn't have enough toothpicks for every truffle so I removed them and reused them by gently sticking in a frozen truffle ball then dipping; My balls were frozen overnight)

Refrigerate the truffles until ready to serve.

From Mel'sKitchenCafe