Make Buckeyes

If you love the taste of peanut butter and chocolate, you can't go wrong with buckeyes. Buckeyes are basically delicious little peanut butter balls, coated in rich chocolate. They are called "buckeyes" because they resemble the nut of the buckeye tree – although these sweet treats taste much better!

Ingredients

• 1¹/₂ cups peanut butter (355mL)
• ¹/₂ cup butter (118mL)
• 1 tsp. vanilla (5 mL)
• 16 oz. confectioners sugar/powdered sugar (454g)
• 6 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips (170g)
• 2 tbsp. shortening (30mL)
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon, optional (2.3g)

Steps

Making the Peanut Butter Balls

1. Mix butter, cinnamon, vanilla, powdered sugar, and peanut butter. Soften the butter to room temperature so that it blends easily with the other ingredients. The quickest way to blend everything is to use an electric mixer, but stirring your mixture with a spoon can be just as effective, though slower. Continue mixing until everything blends together into smooth dough.
2. Shape the peanut butter dough into balls. Scoop about 2 tablespoons of dough out at a time. Roll the peanut butter in your palms until you've created small, smooth balls. For reference, your peanut butter balls should be no larger than a ping pong ball.
3. Chill the peanut butter balls in the refrigerator. Line a cookie sheet with wax paper. After you've rolled all of the peanut butter dough into balls, place them in rows on the wax paper. Pop that into your fridge and let them chill for at least 30 minutes. By chilling the peanut butter balls, they'll maintain their shape better while you add the chocolate coating.

Creating the Chocolate Coating

1. Melt the chocolate and shortening. Place the chocolate in a double-boiler and heat the water so that it is simmering, but not boiling. Continue to stir as the chocolate chips begin to melt from the heat. Once the chocolate is smooth and creamy, add the shortening. Continue to stir frequently so that your chocolate mixture doesn't burn.
   • If you do not have a double boiler, you can simply nestle a heat-safe bowl inside a pan of water. You can see how to do that Make-a-Double-Boiler-(Bain-Marie)!
   • You can also very carefully melt your chocolate in the microwave. Put your chocolate in a shallow bowl, and heat it for one minute on medium high heat. Stir it thoroughly, and put it back in the microwave. Continue cooking the chocolate for 15-20 seconds at a time, stirring after each interval. Do this until your chocolate is completely melted.
2. Insert a toothpick into the peanut butter balls. Once the peanut butter balls are thoroughly chilled, poke a toothpick into the center. Make sure that the toothpick can support the weight of the peanut butter ball without breaking. You will need to be able to hold the peanut butter ball with the toothpick while you dip it into the chocolate.
   • If you created larger balls or simply can't hold it with a toothpick, you can use a fork to hold the balls. Because they'll create multiple holes in the dough, smooth the holes over with your finger after you remove the fork.
3. Dip each peanut butter ball into the chocolate. Dip the balls about halfway into the chocolate, so that they aren't completely coated in the chocolate. This will leave a bit of the brown peanut butter exposed, giving it the appearance of a buckeye. After coating the peanut butter, place the buckeye on wax paper, chocolate-side down. Don't forget to remove the toothpick.
4. Let the buckeyes cool in the refrigerator. This will allow the chocolate to harden. It can be difficult to wait for them to firm up, but it's worth it! Remove your buckeyes from the refrigerator, and enjoy!
   • You can keep your buckeyes for about two weeks at room temperature, or a bit longer in the refrigerator. If you pop them in your freezer, you can save them for several months!

Tips

• Don't be afraid to experiment with different variations. You can easily make buckeyes with white chocolate – they just won't look like actual buckeyes, but that's OK! Dark chocolate is another delicious option.
• You can use creamy or chunky peanut butter, and you can even use almond butter, cashew butter, or sunflower butter. You can tailor these ingredients to make your perfect buckeyes.

Things You'll Need

• Electric mixer (optional) or mixing utensils
• Double boiler or bowl nestled in pot of water
• Wax paper
• Toothpicks

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Sources and Citations

See also

• Make Frosted Rose Petals
• Make Burnt Sugar Lollipops
• Hide Candy in Your Room
• Make Candy Apples
• Make a Candy Lei
• Make Chewing Gum
• Make Edible Teacups
• Make Irish Potato Candies
• Make Chocolate Whipped Cream
• Make a Homemade Twix Candy Bar

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