Peanut Butter Ghosts (Copycat Reese's) + Video

Why I Like This Recipe

• Simple ingredients. The ingredients are inexpensive and basic; you probably have most of them on hand already.
• Versatile filling. I use the same peanut butter filling for the ghosts as my peanut butter eggs (Reese's copycat) and copycat peanut butter trees. You can also make these in pumpkin shapes by forming them with your hands, or rolling the peanut butter filling out with a rolling pin and cutting out the shapes with a small pumpkin cookie cutter!
• One batch makes a lot! These come together fairly quickly, so it's easy to make 20 ghosts in no time. They store well, too, so feel free to make an entire batch to enjoy for the week!

Tips and Tricks

1. How to heat candy melts. I microwaved mine at 50% power in 30-second increments. This is the best method for working with candy melts. When I use chocolate chips, I microwave at full power in 20-30 second increments. If you find that your chocolate isn't as thin as you'd like for dipping, you can add a teaspoon of solid vegetable shortening or coconut oil to thin it out (solid vegetable shortening is preferred).
2. Tip for dipping ghosts in chocolate. The peanut butter filling may start to soften by the time you get to the last few ghosts. No worries, just pop them back into the freezer for a few minutes. You can also keep half of the undipped ghosts in the freezer while you dip the first half and then pull them out later.
3. How to store peanut butter ghosts. Layer the ghosts between pieces of parchment or waxed paper in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

Ingredients

• Butter: just a small amount to make the filling smooth and easy to handle. I use salted butter exclusively for all of my baking and cooking, but you can use unsalted.
• Peanut butter: obviously. I prefer creamy peanut butter to closely resemble Reese's peanut butter filling.
• Vanilla: just a splash for flavor. Have you tried making your own vanilla extract? 
• Powdered sugar: for texture. The powdered sugar gives the dough stability and makes it easy to form into shapes.
• Milk: This helps thin the dough a bit. You can use more or less than what I used to achieve the perfect consistency.
• White chocolate: you can use almond bark, chocolate chips, or melting wafers. I used melting wafers this time.
• Sprinkles: I used these sprinkles for the eyes. You can also use black sugar balls or mini chocolate chips.

See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.

How To Make Peanut Butter Ghosts

Step 1: Combine softened butter, powdered sugar, vanilla, peanut butter, and milk in a mixing bowl. Mix until a soft dough forms. If your dough feels a little dry, you can add an additional teaspoon of milk. The dough will be soft and easy to form.

Step 2: Pinch off the dough (or use a small cookie scoop), 1 Tablespoon at a time, and roll into balls. Flatten slightly and make an oval shape, tapering at the top and wider at the bottom.

Step 3: Place the ghosts onto a parchment or wax paper-lined baking sheet. Freeze for 30 minutes, or until hard. The colder the ghosts, the easier they are to dip.

Step 4: Melt the white chocolate according to the package instructions, or in a double boiler.

Step 5: Dip frozen peanut butter ghosts into the white chocolate using a fork. Drag the fork against the side of the bowl to remove even more chocolate, then slide the ghost onto the parchment or wax paper-lined baking sheet.

Step 6: Working quickly, add the candy eyes before the chocolate hardens.

Copycat Reese's Ghosts FAQs

More Halloween Treats To Make

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