With my 12 days of homemade Christmas I guess I should add something that is a must have for my husband, Buckeyes. Every year starting at Thanksgiving he tells me how he needs Buckeyes, it is not Christmas without Buckeyes… he needs Buckeyes now. For those of you wondering what Buckeyes are they are what those in Ohio call peanut butter balls. For those of you going huh, the state tree of Ohio is the Buckeye tree and the peanut butter balls are made to look like Buckeye nuts.
Buckeyes are a delicious combination of peanut butter and chocolate that some call candy while others call a no bake cookie. They are a bit time consuming but are very easy to make. Your friends and family will love getting these Christmas treats!
Buckeyes start off by mixing softened butter and peanut butter. The quality of your buckeyes will be determined by your quality of ingredients so use good peanut butter. Once well combined you add powdered sugar and some vanilla and form your dough. A mixer is helpful for this step. I remember working at Pizza Hut many years ago and allowing one of my employees to use our huge Hobart mixer to mix up her peanut butter dough.
Once you have your dough you will need to form it into balls. I use a cookie scoop so all of my balls are the same size.
Place the balls on a wax paper lined cookie sheet and refrigerate . This is a hard step in my house because that is when the peanut butter balls start to disappear.
When you are ready to dip you add a bit of shortening or paraffin to your chips and melt.Remember the quality of your chocolate will also determine the quality of your buckeyes. Use good chocolate.
Then you are ready to dip
I use toothpicks because that is what works best for me.
and once you dip shake off excess… I twirl back and forth a bit.
and place back onto your wax paper lined cookie sheet
and repeat until all your peanut butter balls are dipped.
Then you are left to wait for your chocolate to harden up. To speed this up you can place your Buckeyes back in the refrigerator or your freezer..
and there you go delicious Buckeyes to share with friends and family.
- 1½ cups creamy peanut butter (this a a 18oz jar)
- ½ cup butter, softened
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar (1 pound)
- 6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 2 tablespoons shortening (or parrafin)
- Line a baking sheet with waxed paper; set aside.
- In a medium bowl, mix peanut butter, butter, vanilla, and confectioners' sugar with hands to form a smooth stiff dough. Shape into balls using 2 teaspoons of dough for each ball. Place on prepared pan, and refrigerate.
- Melt shortening and chocolate together in a metal bowl over a pan of lightly simmering water. Stir occasionally until smooth, and remove from heat.
- Remove balls from refrigerator. Insert a wooden toothpick into a ball, and dip into melted chocolate. Return to wax paper, chocolate side down, and remove toothpick. Repeat with remaining balls. Refrigerate for 30 minutes to set.
recipe from my husband’s grandma and Allrecipes.com
