Simple Buckeye Recipe
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Make the best buckeye candy recipe with just 5 simple ingredients and no chocolate tempering required. The buckeye balls have a delightful peanut butter flavor with a delicious chocolate coating.
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OH…IO! Buckeye candy is synonymous with the state of Ohio. These peanut butter and chocolate confections resemble the nut of the Buckeye tree, the state tree of Ohio and mascot of The Ohio State University.
Ironically, the nuts of the buckeye tree are poisonous. I promise these candy confections are perfectly edible. This is the best buckeye candy recipe loaded with irresistible peanut butter flavor.
It pairs perfectly with the outer chocolate coating. I prefer to use chocolate melting wafers instead of baking chocolate or chocolate chips.
Chocolate chips don’t melt very easily and baking chocolate needs to be tempered in order for the coating to set properly.
Melting wafers contain additional cocoa butter to help stabilize the chocolate so tempering isn’t necessary.
If you love peanut butter, give my peanut butter balls, buckeye brownies, and no-bake peanut butter bars a try next!
Why this recipe works
- You don’t have to cook this candy the way you would with peanut butter fudge.
- The confectioners’ sugar holds the dough together and allows it to be formed into balls.
- This recipe does not require paraffin wax or chocolate tempering, which means it is doable for bakers of all levels.
- The sugar-free, salted commercial-brand peanut butter helps the dough hold its shape and prevents the cookies from being too oily.
This is the best buckeye candy recipe. The resulting confections look so fancy, but are really easy to pull off with minimal skill and few ingredients.
What you need
This recipe is so easy. It only has 5 simple baking ingredients. Let’s discuss just a few of the key ingredients:
Ingredients
This is a short overview of the ingredients I used and why I chose them. The full recipe can be found at the bottom of the post!
- Peanut butter: Use commercial-brand peanut butter, which is salted and unsweetened. Do NOT use natural peanut butter because the candy will not hold its shape.
- Butter: Unsalted sweet cream butter works best.
- Vanilla: This adds a sweet, woody flavor and aroma to the candy.
- Sugar: I used confectioners’ sugar in this recipe. I would NOT recommend substituting with any other type of sugar. Your candies will not turn out.
- Chocolate: I prefer chocolate melting wafers for coating the exterior of the balls.
Equipment
This is a list of tools I used to make the recipe.
- Toothpicks: These are used as handles for dipping the buckeye balls into chocolate.
- Baking sheet: I used a baking sheet for holding the buckeyes during the preparation process.
How to make buckeye candy
1. Make the peanut butter balls
Mix up the buckeye recipe dough and shape it into balls.
- Beat the peanut butter and butter on medium speed until smooth. Then, add vanilla extract and confectioners’ sugar.
- Then, beat on low speed until sugar appears moistened. Increase speed to medium and continue until combined. The dough should look thick like cookie dough.
- With a 1.5 tablespoon cookie scoop, scoop dough and roll into balls. Place the balls on a prepared cookie sheet.
- Then, press a toothpick into the top of each ball and chill in the freezer until firm. This should take about 30 minutes.
2. Dip peanut butter balls in chocolate
Give your confections the buckeye ball look by dipping them in chocolate.
- Now, add chocolate melting wafers to a heatproof bowl. Then, set the bowl over a pot of barely simmering water. Stir constantly while melting chocolate. Remove from heat when melted.
- Use the toothpick as a handle for dipping the buckeyes. Then, dip each ball individually in the chocolate.
- Make sure to leave a part of the dough bare to get the buckeye candy look.
- Return dipped cookies to the cookie sheet. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
- Prior to serving, remove the toothpick and smooth the hole with the back of a spoon.
Jen’s best tips
- Do not substitute any other type of sugar for the confectioners’ sugar (powdered sugar) in the buckeye recipe. This type of sugar works best for shaping the dough. Other sugars will leave the dough with a gritty feel.
- Weigh the ingredients! Precise measurements are very important for these candies.
- If your dough feels sticky or too soft, add powdered sugar to reach the ideal consistency for rolling.
Storing & Freezing
To store: Cover the buckeye balls tightly and store in the refrigerator for no more than 2 weeks.
To freeze: These balls freeze well. Freeze the balls for no more than 2 months.
First, freeze the balls on a baking sheet. Then 1 hour later, transfer them into a zip-top freezer bag.
More fantastic peanut butter recipes
Yum! I love baking with peanut butter. Check out some of my other favorites:
- Peanut Butter Cup Cookies
- Peanut Butter Frosting
- Peanut Butter No-Bake Cookies
- Peanut Butter Blossoms
Buckeye Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups (480 g) sugar-free creamy peanut butter, choose one that's salted
- 1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter, softened
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 5 cups (600 g) confectioners' sugar
- 18 ounces (510 g) chocolate melting wafers
Instructions
- In a large bowl, beat the peanut butter and butter on medium speed until smooth. Add the vanilla and confectioners’ sugar. Beat on low speed until sugar is moistened then beat on medium speed until combined. The dough will look thick like cookie dough and shouldn’t be sticky.
- Scoop the mixture with a 1.5 tablespoon cookie scoop and roll into balls. Place the balls on a cookie sheet lined with parchment or wax paper. Press a toothpick into the top of each ball and chill in the freezer until firm, about 30 minutes.
- Add chocolate melting wafers to a heatproof bowl. Set the bowl over a pot filled with 1-inch of barely simmering water. Heat stirring constantly until the chocolate is melted and smooth. Remove from heat.
- Using the toothpick as a handle, dip each ball into the chocolate. Leave a small portion of peanut butter showing at the top to make them look like Buckeyes.
- Place the buckeyes back on the cookie sheet and refrigerate until ready to serve.
- Remove the toothpick and smooth the hole with the back of a spoon just before serving.
Notes
- Peanut butter: For the best results, use a commercial brand peanut butter that is salted but unsweetened. Natural peanut butter can be too oily resulting buckeyes that are too soft to hold shape.
- Confectioners’ sugar: You must use confectioners sugar/powdered sugar. This is used to thicken the dough so it can be shaped. Other sugars won’t work the same way and will leave a gritty mouth feel.
- If at all possible, weigh the ingredients. It’s important to use precise measurements so the consistency of the peanut butter dough comes out properly. If it feels too soft and sticky, add more powdered sugar.
- Keep them tightly covered and store in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
- They also freeze well for up to 2 months. First, freeze them on the baking sheet for 1 hour then transfer to a ziptop freezer bag.
Nutrition
The nutrition information provided is for convenience and as a courtesy only. It is not guaranteed to be accurate because nutrition information can vary for a variety of reasons. For precise nutritional data use your preferred nutrition calculator and input the exact ingredients and brands you used in the recipe.
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