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Tessa’s Recipe Rundown
Taste: Like the inside of a peanut butter cup!
Texture: Soft, fudgy, kind of like a buckeye filling.
Ease: Crazy easy one-bowl, no-bake, 7-minute recipe.
Why you’ll love this recipe: A tiny and adorable showstopper for cupcakes, pies, cheesecakes, and more.
These peanut butter pumpkins are almost too cute and use ingredients you may already have on hand. No oven needed!
Simply mix all the ingredients together, shape into balls with your hands, then score pumpkin lines using a butter knife. Top with a mini chocolate chip for the pumpkin “stem.”
Bonus: They keep for days in the fridge, so you can make them ahead of time!
Use them to decorate fall and holiday desserts, or enjoy them as a sweet snack! You can also shape them into footballs for game day, eggs for Easter, or just about anything else you can imagine.
Recipe Ingredients
Peanut Butter: Any brand of creamy peanut butter you enjoy will work. Natural peanut butter works, just make sure it’s extremely well-stirred and room temperature.
Butter: Just a tablespoon of room temperature butter helps bring this mixture together. Make sure it’s not too cold or your mixture won’t come together evenly.
Powdered Sugar: This is what turns the peanut butter into a moldable dough that tastes like Reese’s filling. If your powdered sugar is extra clumpy, sift it first. Don’t reduce the amount.
Mini Chocolate Chips: These become the pumpkin “stem.”
Optional – Sanding Sugar: If you’d like your pumpkins to sparkle, roll them in sanding sugar! This can obscure the lines of the pumpkin shape, so make them extra deep. Press the chocolate chip on top first before rolling.
How to Make Peanut Butter Pumpkins (Step by Step)
Begin dough. Combine peanut butter, butter, powdered sugar, vanilla, and salt. Mixture will be very crumbly.
Mix dough. Beat until the mixture begins to come together and holds its shape when pinched. Will still look loose.
Shape balls. Divide the dough into 12 equal portions and roll between your palms into smooth rounds.
Create pumpkin shape. Run the blunt side of a butter knife vertically along each round. Top with a mini chocolate chip for the “stem.”
Optional: Coat the pumpkins in sparkling sugar for a festive touch and added crunch.
Storage & Make ahead
Fridge: Store the assembled pumpkins in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
Freezer: Store the assembled pumpkins in a freezer container for up to 1 month. Thaw in fridge overnight before using.
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Ingredients
- 1/4 cup (68 grams) creamy peanut butter, conventional or natural, VERY well stirred, at room temperature
- 1 tablespoon (14 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup (63 grams) powdered sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Pinch of salt
- 12 mini semisweet chocolate chips
- 1/4 cup (50 grams) white sanding sugar, optional
Instructions
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the peanut butter, butter, powdered sugar, vanilla, and salt on low speed until a pliable dough forms, about 2 minutes. The mixture will look dry and crumbly at first, then come together into a thick dough.
- Divide the dough into 12 equal portions (about 12 grams each) and roll into balls. Using the back of a dinner knife, make 6 grooves down the sides of each ball to create a pumpkin shape. Top each pumpkin with a mini chocolate chip “stem,” then carefully roll the pumpkins in sanding sugar, if using.
- Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 weeks until ready to use. You can also freeze for up to one month, thaw in fridge overnight.
Notes
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Photos by Joanie Simon.
