Buckeyes are peanut butter balls made with an easy combination of peanut butter, butter, and powdered sugar coated in a crispy chocolate shell.  Leaving the tops of these peanut butter balls gives them the appearance of buckeye tree nuts. 

Carrying buckeye nuts in your pocket are said to bring good luck!  Although I wouldn’t recommend carrying buckeye candies in your pockets!

Buckeyes are another recipe I had never heard of until I was asked if I knew how to make them.

Now I make them so much I make them from memory because they are so simple to make.

BuckeyesYou can really make as few or as many as you want if you can keep the proportions locked into your head or written down somewhere.

You just need 1 part butter to 3 parts peanut butter.  Then add 1 1/2 parts the total of butter and peanut of powdered sugar.

I know that was probably too much math all at once! I get it, math is not my strong suit either.  This is where algebra comes in handy.

So let’s look at in cooking terms.  If you use ¼ cup of butter, you will need ¾ cup of peanut butter.  That gives you 1 cup total right? 

Easy enough so far.  1 ½ times of that total is 1 ½ cups of powdered sugar.

You can double from here, or triple.  Because I use my stand mixer for almost everything, I need to at least double this for my paddle to mix anything well.

So if I double, I start with 1/2 cup of butter.  1/2 cups times 3 is 1 ½ cups of peanut butter.  This leaves a total of 2 cups.  1 1/2 times 2 cups is 3 cups of powdered sugar.

You get the point right?

When it comes to coating the balls, the possibilities are limitless. 

I prefer milk chocolate and I start with a bag of milk chocolate chips.  But you could also use candy melts or any other type of coating you like. 

The amount you need is all dependent on how thick you like your coating.  I prefer a thinner coating on my Buckeyes so I need less chocolate.

I also add shortening to my chocolate, it makes it smoother and easier to coat things.   

The chocolate melted with shortening will need to be refrigerated to keep the coating crisp.

You can also use 1/2 of a block of paraffin wax.

Paraffin wax will result in a shinier and sturdier coating that stores just fine outside of the refrigerator.

Some people get weirded out when they think about eating wax, I just don’t think about it.  

Besides, there are all sorts of chemicals in a chocolate bar right?

I use a double boiler of sorts, I have a metal bowl set over a simmering pan of water. 

This is a slow process, but it gives me more control over the chocolate and also keeps it from cooling off and getting too thick. 

I like all the Buckeyes to have an even amount of chocolate on them.

I take any extra chocolate or coating I have and pour it onto a sheet on non-stick foil. 

Once it has cooled I break into pieces and put it into a bag for later use. 

You can also add pretzels, nuts, broken up cookies, or whatever else you might like in candy bark and cut it into bite size pieces.

MORE PEANUT RECIPES

Homemade Honey Peanut Butter

Peanut Brittle

Salted Peanut Marshmallow Bars

Cinnamon Vanilla Candied Peanuts

Yield: 36 Balls

Buckeyes

Print

Simple peanut butter balls dipped in chocolate.

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour

Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 1/2 cups peanut butter
• 3 cups powdered sugar
• 12 ounces milk chocolate
• 2 tablespoons solid shortening, IE Crisco

Instructions

1. Line cookie sheet with non-stick foil or wax paper sprayed with baking spray.
2. Mix together butter and peanut butter in a bowl.
3. Add powdered sugar and mix until sugar has disappeared.
4. The mixture should be the consistency of a peanut butter cup center. Add more powdered sugar a tablespoon at a time until that consistency is reached.
5. Roll peanut butter mixture into equal sized balls.
6. Set balls on prepared cookie sheet.
7. Place cookie sheet in the freezer and leave until balls are firm.
8. Melt chocolate and shortening together in a double boiler set to simmer. Microwave can be used by microwaving chocolate and shortening in 30-second intervals, stirring in between each interval. This method may require reheating during the coating step.
9. Place a sheet of wax paper or aluminum foil on another cookie sheet and place on workspace near the chocolate.
10. Remove from freezer.
11. Remove balls, one at a time using a toothpick or candy making dipper.
12. Dip 2/3 of the ball into chocolate, leaving the top 1/3 uncoated.
13. Let excess chocolate drip back into melted chocolate.
14. Set coated balls on lined cookie sheet.
15. Allow chocolate to set completely before attempting to move them onto a serving plate. They can be refrigerated at this point for a quicker setting.
16. Store at room temperature or refrigerator.

Notes

Calories provided are for 36 balls per recipe, calorie count will be affected by the size of the balls made and amount of chocolate coating.

Nutrition Information:

Serving Size:

1 Buckeye
Amount Per Serving:Calories: 175 Total Fat: 11.5g Cholesterol: 9mg Sodium: 73mg Carbohydrates: 16g Sugar: 14.15g Protein: 3.5g

Nutritional data varies by nutritional calculator used. All data provided is an estimate. If nutritional data is critical to a specific diet, please verify all information independently.

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