Chocolate Peanut Butter Christmas Trees

• servings: 20 servings

Ingredients

1/2 cup unsalted butter (left out at room temperature for about 10 minutes to slightly soften )

1/4 cup granulated sugar

2 cups creamy peanut butter (I used Skippy cream PB)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 Tablespoon vanilla extract

4 cups powdered sugar

6 cups Ghirardelli Melting Chocolate

Directions

In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, whip up the butter, sugar, and peanut butter until it's light and fluffy.

Add in the salt, vanilla, and powdered sugar and mix in on low speed for about 30 seconds, then whip it up on high speed for 30 seconds to combine the ingredients into a dough-like texture.

Lay out a sheet of parchment paper on the counter, dump out the dough onto the parchment paper, then add another sheet of parchment on top. Roll out the dough into about 1/2 or 1/4 inch thick (depends on your preference) sheet.

Lift the dough (between the parchment paper) onto a cookie sheet and freeze for 30 minutes until firm. Lift up the top layer of parchment, place another sheet of parchment paper onto a different cookie sheet, then use a tree-shaped cookie cutter to cut out the tree shapes. Place the tree shapes onto the prepared cookie sheet. Combine the scraps into another sheet of peanut butter dough and place it into the freezer again to firm up before cutting again (so repeating the process with the remaining pieces, etc).

Place the sheet of tree-shaped peanut butter dough into the freezer for 30 minutes to nearly frozen.

Heat the chocolate melts in the microwave for 1 minute, stir, heat for 30 seconds, then stir again until smooth.

Working in batches of 2-3 trees (leaving the rest in the freezer), submerge the frozen peanut butter tree dough in the chocolate, then carefully lift them with a fork (tapping gently to remove any excess chocolate). Place the chocolate tree onto a sheet of parchment paper. Let the chocolate firm. Repeat (in batches) with the remaining peanut butter trees).

Add about a half cup of the melted chocolate to a squeeze bottle, drip bottle, piping bag, or plastic baggie, and then drizzle on the chocolate onto the chocolate trees.

Store in an airtight container for up to two weeks.