Loading...Ingredients
Scale
- 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