Peanut Butter Pretzel Truffles

OK, so these aren't the cleanest. But who doesn't need a "dirty" little treat now and then? ;)

This recipe caught my eye because it looks remarkably similar (taste-wise, anyway) to the chocolate-covered, peanut-butter-filled pretzel nuggets The H used to devour, but has since had to give up due to that pesky wheat allergy. I made them with a peanut butter whose ingredients list simply says "peanuts" and The H's gluten-free pretzels.

Peanut Butter Pretzel Truffles

from EatingWell.com via My Adventures in Becoming Domestic

1 cup peanut butter

1/2 cup finely chopped salted pretzels

1/2 cup milk chocolate chips

1. In a small bowl, mix pretzels with peanut butter. Freeze for 15 minutes or until slightly firm and partially frozen.

2. Roll filling into balls about (about 1 teaspoon each) and place on wax paper-lined baking sheets (I used two sheets of parchment left from baking cookies earlier). Freeze for 1 hour or until very firm.

3. Melt chocolate (I used a double boiler) and coat each ball. Refrigerate or freeze until chocolate is firm.

I doubled the pretzels--the pb mixture was really quite runny with just 1/2 cup. I attribute that to my peanut butter, which is always rather thin, even after refrigerating. I also needed another 1/2 cup of chocolate for the last step. I ended up with about 32 truffles... or "peanut butter crack clusters."

Work quickly when you're coating these! Again, it could've just been my choice of pb, but these started to thaw/soften very soon after being taken out of the freezer. Their swim in melted chocolate didn't do anything to keep them together, either. What worked best for me was to use two fondue forks for the dunking and transfer back to the baking sheets.

Mine certainly aren't as pretty as either online version, but they sure are tasty. I used a 1/2 Tbsp measuring spoon for scooping the half-frozen mixture and didn't waste time rolling them into bally shapes. Obviously...

Enjoy--and have a glass of milk and napkin handy!