‘Tis the season for Buckeyes! Growing up in Ohio (aka the Buckeye State), these fudgy peanut butter treats coated in chocolate were at every holiday event and in every cookie tin. The name stems from their resemblance to the buckeye nut, Ohio’s state tree.
They were always my favorite, but as I’ve gotten older, the original recipe – a mix of powdered sugar, butter, and creamy peanut butter dipped in milk chocolate – is a little sweet for my taste.
These days, I crave something closer to the interior of Reese’s Peanut Butter Eggs – which has the appropriate chocolate-to-peanut butter ratio IMHO.
To achieve this, I reduced the powdered sugar, incorporated ground peanuts for added texture, and complemented the filling with ground graham crackers and a hint of vanilla. Instead of the traditional paraffin wax used to achieve a glossy chocolate coating, I used vegetable oil mixed with dark chocolate for dipping.
A word of caution: these Buckeyes are softer than the classic version. They’re best served chilled or, if at room temperature, carefully arranged to prevent the peanut butter from smearing. If you are making these for your cookie tin, I’d just cover the entire ball in chocolate to make a peanut butter bonbon!
Enjoy!
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Buckeyes, Updated
(2 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)
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- Total Time: 1 hour, 15 minutes (with an additional 4 hour chill)
- Yield: 36–40 buckeyes 1x
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups creamy peanut butter (380 grams)
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature (85 grams)
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 14 graham crackers (about 220 grams)
- 1 1/2 cups roasted peanuts (220 grams)
- 1 1/2 cups sifted powdered sugar (164 grams)
- 2 cups finely chopped dark chocolate (about 12 ounces)
- 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine 1½ cups creamy peanut butter, ½ cup unsalted butter, ½ teaspoon vanilla extract, and ½ teaspoon kosher salt and beat with a hand mixer until smooth – about 1 minute.
- In the bowl of a food processor add 14 graham crackers and blend until crumbs are fine. Remove from bowl and set aside – you should have approximately 1 ¾ cups of crumbs
- Add 1½ cups roasted peanuts to the food processor bowl, pulse several times, then blend until ground – about 30 seconds to 1 minute. Keep a close eye, the goal is small grounds … not paste.
- Add 1½ cups sifted powdered sugar to the peanut butter mixture and stir using a stiff spatula until sugar is fully incorporated in the mixture.
- Add ground peanuts and graham cracker crumbs to the peanut butter mixture and mix until combined.
- Place bowl with mixture in the freezer for 15 minutes to firm it up.
- Line a sheet pan with wax paper.
- Remove mixture from freezer and pinch off a bit of the mixture and using both hands, roll into a ball – each ball should be about 1 ounce or about approximately the size of a mounded tablespoon. Place ball on the prepared sheet pan. Continued with the rest of the peanut butter mixture – you should have 36 to 40 balls total. Insert a toothpick into the top center of each of balls.
- Place sheet pan of peanut butter balls in the freezer for 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, place 2 cups finely chopped dark chocolate and 2 teaspoons vegetable oil in a 2-cup heatproof glass measuring cup. Place in microwave for 30 seconds, remove and stir. Heat in 30-second intervals, stirring between each until all the chocolate has melted – about 1½ to 2 minutes.
- Using the toothpick as a handle, dip a ball into the melted chocolate leaving an exposed circle at the top – about 85 percent of the ball should be covered. Allow excess chocolate to drip off and place on the wax-paper lined sheet pan. Repeat with the remaining balls.
- If a ball drops off the toothpick, use a spoon to help ease it out of the chocolate.
- At this point, I will typically remove the toothpicks and attempt to cover the hole – I’ve found a rubber wine bottle stop with a curved bottom makes east work of this, but this is an optional step.
- Place sheet pan of buckeyes in the refrigerator for 4 hours – this allows the chocolate to set and the peanut butter to firm up.
Notes
These are a bit softer than your traditional Buckeye, so are better either cold or, if at room temperature, not stacked as the peanut butter with smear – if you are making these for your cookie tin, I’d just cover the entire ball in chocolate to make a peanut butter bonbon.
MAKE AHEAD: These can be made in advance and either stored in the refrigerator for 3 weeks or frozen for up to 2 months.
- Prep Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Chill time: 4 hours
- Category: Dessert
MORE RECIPES CAN BE FOUND HERE.
