Happy to have Brielle back, sharing these Mini Nutroll Peanut Butter Truffles that make a great friend and neighbor gift for the holidays!

Goodbye Thanksgiving! It’s been real. You’ve left before you really even came. Really, Thanksgiving hasn’t even come and yet I’m already onto Christmas along with most of the country.

Let me tell you, I have heard Christmas music playing in almost every store I’ve been into for the past week, half of my neighbors have installed their Christmas lights, Pinterest is flooded with Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer printables, and I find myself saying to my kids whenever they pass by something they want but I don’t want to buy, “Well, that’s a great thing to ask Santa for!”

And thus it is, Thanksgiving is over before it has ever even started. But you know what? That’s okay, because Thanksgiving is about being grateful for friends, family, jobs, and all the other blessings in our lives. No matter if we are putting up Christmas trees, sipping hot cocoa, and singing along to the 100th rendition of Jingle Bells…the Christmas spirit embraces all that Thanksgiving is meant to do; foster love, kindness, generosity, and gratitude.

Wow, that was kind of deep. I’m not sure if that was inspired or the fact that it’s almost midnight and I’ve been up since 4:45 this morning. And I’m only halfway through writing. Who knows what the next 30 minutes will bring to the content of this post. Good luck reading on!

Speaking of gratitude, you know what else I am grateful for besides the obvious friends, family, shelter, etc.??? I’ll tell you. Chocolate.

Seriously, no joke. Not trying to be sarcastic here, although I do realize that sarcasm shines through almost every single one of my posts. I assure you it is by no extra effort on my part. It just comes naturally. But for real, I love chocolate and I am grateful that I can have at least a bite of it almost every single day.

There is something that a bite of chocolate does to you that makes you feel like you can conquer the world…that is until you swallow and realize that your children are still nipping at your heels, your husband is still asking you for the millionth time where something is, and the dirty dishes are still in the sink.

So if that’s how chocolate makes you feel, don’t you think you should share that goodness with the rest of the world??? This is an obvious rhetorical question. Let’s not be silly. The answer is, yes you should!

That is why these Mini Nutroll Peanut Butter Truffles are the perfect holiday goodie to give to friends and neighbors. They are adorable, sweet, salty, crunchy, smooth, and covered in…chocolate!

Let me break this down for you.

Soft salted caramel chew with chopped peanuts
Smooth peanut butter
Dipped in chocolate
Drizzled with melted butterscotch chips
Sprinkled with extra chopped peanuts

Got the picture? Good! So then we all agree what must be done. Get out your aprons, roll up your sleeves, and turn on the stove. Let’s get to work little elves…because you will undoubtedly be delivering some Christmas cheer along with these little treats!

What does chocolate do for you?

Mini Nutroll Peanut Butter Truffles

Truffles filled with a peanut caramel chew and peanut butter, dipped in chocolate coating, and drizzled with melted butterscotch chips.

Course: Dessert

Servings: 25

Author: Kristen Duke

Ingredients

2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup half and half
dash of salt about 1/8 teaspoon
3/4 cup chopped peanuts plus more for garnishing
1/4 cup smooth peanut butter
1 pound melting chocolate such as Candiquik
1/2 cup butterscotch morsels

Instructions

Line an 8 X 8 baking dish with foil. Grease well and set aside. In a medium sized saucepan, combine butter, sugar, corn syrup and vanilla. Melt butter and liquefy sugar at medium heat, stirring continuously. Increase heat to medium high to reach a boil. Slowly add half and half, stirring vigorously, and reduce heat to a low rolling boil. Add salt and stir. Boil for 13-15 minutes until mixture reaches a soft ball candy stage*, stirring occasionally to avoid burning.
Remove mixture from heat and stir in 3/4 cup chopped peanuts. Stir to mix peanuts evenly throughout mixture. Pour into greased foil pan and allow to completely cool and solidify.
Once mixture has solidified, pull aluminum foil out of pan. Cut block with a sharp knife into 5 rows X 5 rows to make 25 candies. Shape candies into squares and place on wax paper or greased foil lined cookie sheet. Press thumb into middles of each square about 2/3 deep into caramel mixture. Fill each indentation with peanut butter until it just mounds over. Transfer caramels to the fridge to set while preparing the dipping chocolate.
Melt chocolate coating according to package directions. Once chocolate is smooth and ready to dip, take caramels from the fridge. Place one caramel at a time, peanut butter facing up, on a fork and dip into chocolate. Tap fork on edge of dipping bowl to remove excess chocolate. Gently set chocolate back on wax paper or foil to harden. Repeat steps with remaining caramels.
Melt butterscotch chips in a microwave safe dish at 50 percent power for 30 seconds. Remove and stir for at lease 30 seconds. Return to microwave and melt in additional 15 second intervals, stirring for at least 30 seconds in between, until chips are melted. Transfer mixture to a sandwich sized plastic bag. Cut a very small corner off the edge of the bag, just enough to squeeze a thin line of mixture through. Squeeze bag to drizzle melted butterscotch over truffles, one at a time, sprinkling with finely chopped peanuts after each drizzle.
Allow chocolate coating and butterscotch drizzle to harden. Package, deliver, and enjoy some for yourself.

Recipe Notes

*I did not use a candy thermometer. Mine took 13 minutes of boiling to reach this stage. I test by dipping a spatula into the mixture, blowing on it until it completely cools, and touching it with my fingers to see if it has reached the consistency that I want. Roll the mixture between your fingers to see if it comes together. It should be slightly softer than taffy.

If you enjoyed this holiday recipe, be sure to check out some of my other Holiday treats at Breezy Bakes.