The Freshman Cook: Chocolate Vegan Peanut Butter Balls / #Choctoberfest2019

#Choctoberfest is an annual recipe-sharing event. I’m joining other food bloggers from around the world to create delicious chocolate recipes. This year, over 70 bloggers are joining together for a week full of chocolate cakes, pies, cookies, puddings, tarts, candies, and more. You can follow along by searching for the hashtag #Choctoberfest on Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, and Twitter. Or, simply follow any of the participating bloggers listed below. We also have some awesome sponsors, who make #Choctoberfest possible every year. Our sponsors have banded together to put together a delicious prize pack worth over $400! Here’s what you get if you win! (Scroll down to enter.)

• Candy Gift Pack from blog host Triple Chocolate Kitchen, which includes 180-pack of Lindt LINDOR Chocolate Truffles (dark, milk, and white). Triple Chocolate Kitchen organizes #Choctoberfest, as well as posting chocolate recipes throughout the year.

• Chocolate and Cocoa Gift Pack from Divine Chocolate, which includes a variety of high-quality fair trade chocolate bars, cocoa powder, and Divine Chocolate swag. Divine Chocolate’s baking line consists of three premium quality flavors ranging from 55% to 100% cocoa for a wide variety of delicious desserts. Their chocolate products are made with 100% cocoa butter and are non-GMO and Vegan Society Certified.
• $100 Nordic Ware Gift Card and 40 Pounds of Granulated Sugar from Imperial Sugar. They are currently hosting their annual Scary Scramble, featuring delicious fall-inspired recipes using Imperial Sugar’s high-quality sweeteners. Imperial Sugar has been a kitchen staple for over 175 years!
• Collagen Fuel™ Drink Mix Gift Pack from Primal Kitchen. The ingredients in these drink mixes help support hair, skin, and nails. Their chocolate version has organic, fair-trade cocoa and coconut milk powders, with no wheat, soy, or dairy ingredients.
• Cracker Gift Pack from Mary’s Gone Crackers. The lucky winner will get to try a variety of crackers, many of which pair well with chocolate (check their recipe page for ideas!). Mary’s products are vegan, cruelty-free, and organic.
• Fig Spread Gift Pack from Dalmatia Spreads. With flavors like sour cherry, plum, blackberry, and orange, you’ll find that several of Dalmatia’s fig-based spreads work well in chocolate recipes. Use as a filling for crépes, serve warm over ice cream, or spread onto toast. They even have a fig cocoa spread that uses fair trade cocoa.
• Alkaline Water Pack from Perfect Hydration. Wash down all those delicious chocolate desserts with Perfect Hydration water. This 9.5+ pH alkaline water helps to effectively restore and rebalance the body to optimum pH levels. This water goes through a 9-stage filtration process, has no added sodium, chlorine, or fluoride, and is packaged in recyclable BPA-free bottles.
• Kitchen Conversions Chart and Etsy Gift Card from Moonflower Mountain. Winner chooses the colors for this flower-adorned conversion chart, which makes it easy to double any recipe or convert from cups to tablespoons.

This is a prize pack worth over $400! Open worldwide, except where prohibited. Must be 18+ to enter (21+ in some locations). One lucky winner will be drawn randomly on October 20, 2019 and contacted via email. See terms and conditions for more details. Enter the giveaway now: a Rafflecopter giveawayEntries from spam or inactive accounts are invalid. #Choctoberfest bloggers, sponsors, and their immediate families/households are not eligible to win. This giveaway is not affiliated with or sponsored by Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or Pinterest.Make sure you check out the participating bloggers to see #Choctoberfest recipes throughout the week: Triple Chocolate Kitchen• 2 Cookin Mamas• A Day in the Life on the Farm• A Labour of Life• A Little Fish in the Kitchen• A Southern Fairytale• Amy’s Cooking Adventures• An Affair from the Heart• Bottom Left of the Mitten• Broken Teepee• Bunsen Burner Bakery• Champagne and Coconuts• Cindy’s Recipes and Writings• Cook with Renu• Cook’s Hideout• Cookaholic Wife• Crafty Cooking Mama• Daily Dish Recipes• Dixie Chik Cooks• Everyday Eileen• Fairyburger• Family Breakfast Recipes• First Timer Cook• Fix Me a Little Lunch• Frugal & Fit• Fun Happy Home• Get the Good Stuff!• Glenda Embree• Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks• How Was Your Day?• I Can Cook That• Join Us, Pull up a Chair• Karen’s Kitchen Stories• Kate’s Recipe Box• Kelly Lynn’s Sweets and Treats• Life & Medicine Blog• Life on Food• Long Distance Baking• Lynchburg Mama• Makes, Bakes and Decor• Making Miracles• Mama Needs Cake• Memories In The Kitchen• Our Good Life• Our Sutton Place• Palatable Pastime• Queenslee Appétit• Reviewz & Newz• Sarah Cooks the Books• Sarah’s Bake Studio• Seduction In The Kitchen• Shockingly Delicious• Simple Family Crazy Life• Simply Inspired Meals• Sneha’s Recipe• Style Island• Sumptuous Spoonfuls• Sweet Coralice• Sweet Dash of Sass• Take Two Tapas• That Recipe• The Awesome Muse• The Beard and The Baker• The Delicious Spoon• The Food Hunter’s Guide to Cuisine• The Freshman Cook• The Redhead Baker• The Schizo Chef• The Spiffy Cookie• The Urben Life• Trampling Rose• Turnips 2 Tangerines• Who Needs A Cape?• Wildflour’s Cottage Kitchen• Zesty South Indian Kitchen

 Don’t forget to enter to win! Ok, let’s get started with Choctoberfest2019!!!

 These Vegan Chocolate Peanut Butter Balls are the perfect treat to add to your gift giving boxes and tins this holiday season! They are easy to make, and they can be frozen, so if you are interested in making things ahead of time, you will want these in your gift baskets! I used a vegan peanut butter, a vegan powdered sugar, and a bittersweet baking chocolate from the sponsor of todays post, Divine Chocolate! #MakeSomethingDivine  This bar is seriously good! It is made with all natural ingredients, no artificial flavors, and 100% pure cocoa butter.  Find out more about them at @DivineChocolateUSAon Facebook and Instagram and @DivineChocUSAon Twitter! Also check out the Divine Chocolateweb site for recipe, stories, and business info! Chocolate Vegan Peanut Butter Balls  
(makes 1 dozen )
(printable recipe at end of page)

1 cup Vegan Peanut Butter

1 cup Sugar
1 5.3 ounce Divine Bittersweet 70% Cocoa Bar  Take 1 cup of granulated sugar and place it in a blender. I used a brand that is vegan. Beat the sugar for at least 2 minutes. Stop and check for grittiness. You are making powdered sugar from the granulated sugar, so there is no gritty feeling aloud. Beat again for at least another minute, then check again. Mine took approx. 3 minutes. It will look just like above.
Stir in the 3/4 cup of powdered sugar with the 1 cup of Vegan Peanut Butter. 
It should look like this when you are done. Cover and refrigerate. You can even freeze it if you want quicker results.The peanut butter being cold is your friend in this recipe. It really helps with handling the peanut butter. 
Chop the Divine Bittersweet Baking Chocolate into small pieces so it will melt quicker and evenly. Heat on low heat to melt.
Once melted, add 1 tablespoon of the powdered sugar and mix, then taste. I added 2 tablespoons for this recipe, but you might like it differently. Mix sugar and chocolate together.
Using a 1 tablespoon scoop, make the peanut butter and powdered sugar into a ball. Place on wax paper and freeze for a few hours or overnight.
 Dip peanut butter balls into melted chocolate and powdered sugar mix. Place on tray with wax paper and freeze.
 Sprinkle with additional powdered sugar before serving. Enjoy!
This is the first vegan recipe I have every made, so if I have made an error in the vegan area, please kindly let me know. Here are some interesting facts about Divine Chocolatethat you will want to know:
I used the bittersweet chocolate to cover my Peanut Butter Balls, but Divine Chocolate’s baking line consists of three premium quality flavors ranging from 55% to 100% cocoa for a wide variety of delicious desserts. Check them out by clicking the link above.
Also, as a baker, I love that becauseDivine Chocolate is made with with 100% pure cocoa butter it has an amazing melting point! It melts beautifully and evenly and it is a pleasure to work with! I encourage you to use their products. You will love them!

Scroll down for a printable recipe, and don’t forget to join the giveaway fun! Good luck!


• 1 cup Vegan Peanut Butter
• 1 cup Sugar
• 1 5.3 ounce Divine Bittersweet 70% Cocoa Bar

1. Take 1 cup of granulated sugar and place it in a blender. I used a brand that is vegan. Beat the sugar for at least 2 minutes. Stop and check for grittiness. You are making powdered sugar from the granulated sugar, so there is no gritty feeling aloud. Beat again for at least another minute, then check again. Mine took approx. 3 minutes. It will look just like above.
2. Stir in the 3/4 cup of powdered sugar with the 1 cup of Vegan Peanut Butter.
3. It should look like this when you are done. Cover and refrigerate. You can even freeze it if you want quicker results.The peanut butter being cold is your friend in this recipe. It really helps with handling the peanut butter.
4. Chop the Divine Bittersweet Baking Chocolate into small pieces so it will melt quicker and evenly. Heat on low heat to melt.
5. Once melted, add 1 tablespoon of the powdered sugar and mix, then taste. I added 2 tablespoons for this recipe, but you might like it differently. Mix sugar and chocolate together.
6. Using a 1 tablespoon scoop, make the peanut butter and powdered sugar into a ball. Place on wax paper and freeze for a few hours or overnight.
7. Dip peanut butter balls into melted chocolate and powdered sugar mix. Place on tray with wax paper and freeze.
8. Sprinkle with additional powdered sugar before serving.

vegan, peanut butter, chocolate, Divine Chocolate, powdered sugar, treats, holisay gifts

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