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For Starters: Peanut Butter and Jelly Grape Balls

5 min read
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As a child, there was nothing better than cracking eggs or getting to stir something that you were helping an adult make. I even remember having my own cookbook filled with kid friendly recipes that my mother would let me help cook out of. I loved that book and still have it to this day.

With all of this in mind, I started thinking about recipes for both adults and children alike and one immediately stood out in my mind. It is a recipe that is featured in my cookbook – “The Good The Bad The Cookbook.” If you don’t own a copy yet you can purchase one (or more) at www.GoodBadCookbook.com.

The recipe I immediately thought of was my Peanut Butter and Jelly Grape Balls. Grape Balls were something that I made a lot of when I worked in the professional kitchen. We would make them as an hors d’oeuvre for many different events.

The type of Grape Balls we made were more of an adult version. A traditional Grape Ball is made by wrapping a thin layer of cream cheese around a red grape and then rolling this cream cheese wrapped grape in finely chopped pistachios.

Many different variations of the Grape Ball can be made, but the one described above is the basic version. You can make an alternate version by mixing crumbled blue cheese with the cream cheese before wrapping the grape and then rolling the grape in chopped walnuts.

The child friendly version consists of mixing some peanut butter and jelly into the cream cheese before wrapping it around a grape and then rolling the entire delicious concoction in graham cracker crumbs. It really is delicious for both children and adults.

One important thing you should know before making this, or any other Grape Ball, recipe – the colder the cream cheese the easier it is to wrap around the grape.

An easy way to keep your cream cheese as cold as possible is to use your hands to press it in an even layer in the bottom of a stainless steel mixing bowl. You will then place that mixing bowl inside a larger mixing bowl filled about halfway with ice.

Another tip is to have a clean hand towel close by to keep your hands clean as you roll the grapes. The heat from your hands will melt some of the cream cheese as you roll the Grape Balls and cause some of it to stick to your hands. This excess cream cheese will make it increasingly more difficult to roll future Grape Balls. If you wipe your hands every so often to work with your hands as clean as possible it will make your Grape Ball rolling life exponentially easier.

Finally, you can wrap and roll the grapes in the cream cheese a couple of days in advance. Just keep them in the refrigerator in a container with a tight fitting lid. Do not roll them in the graham cracker crumbs until right before serving.

The same principle goes for the other Grape Ball varieties. You can wrap and roll in cream cheese ahead of time, but do not roll in chopped nuts or anything else until just before serving.

My advice would be to mix the peanut butter and jelly with the cream cheese, place the mix in a even layer in a mixing bowl, chill the mixture in the refrigerator for a couple of hours, and then have the kids help you roll the grapes in the cream cheese mixture and then again in the graham cracker crumbs.

It’s a great family activity and the kids will be more likely to enjoy these treats if they are actually involved in making them. You’ll be surprised at how much you as an adult will also enjoy these simple little treats.

I am aware that kids aren’t legally allowed to enjoy an adult beverage, so I recommend pairing these treats with an ice cold glass of milk. I dare you to find a better way to wash down peanut butter and jelly!

Get the kids involved and have some fun this weekend.

Mario Porreca of Belle Vernon is an entrepreneur, author, lifestyle solutions expert, and the host of The Mario Show on WMBS Radio 590 AM. He can be reached via his website at: www.MarioPorreca.com. Twitter: @MarioPorreca

Peanut Butter and Jelly Grape Balls

Yield: 4 servings

4 ounces cream cheese

1 tablespoon creamy peanut butter

½ tablespoon blackberry jelly

12 red grapes (round-shaped grapes work best)

1 cup graham crackers, crushed into crumbs

Procedure:

1. In a mixing bowl, fold together the cream cheese, peanut butter and jelly until thoroughly combined. Wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before use.

2. After cream cheese mixture is completely chilled, use hands and work as quickly as possible to wrap a layer of the cream cheese mixture around each grape. Roll each grape in your hands once it is coated to form a smooth round shape. The warmer the cream cheese mixture gets, the more difficult it is to work with.

3. When all grapes are rolled in the cream cheese mixture, roll each grape in the graham cracker crumbs to coat, and serve.

4. Grapes may be rolled in cream cheese mixture and stored in the refrigerator up to 2 days ahead of time. Do not roll in graham cracker crumbs until right before serving.

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