Buckeye Balls | Easy Treats to Love

What's not to love about the classic pairing of peanut butter and chocolate?   If this is one of your favorites too, then you will love this quick tasty buckeye candy recipe.

Buckeye Candy Recipe

This is such a simple treat to make.  It's a wonderful lunchbox surprise too!  I like to make them and keep them in the freezer as a quick bite size snack when I'm craving a little something sweet.

Depending on how big you make your buckeyes, this recipe makes about 40 individual pieces.

1. In a large bowl, beat together 2 cups of creamy peanut butter* with 1 stick unsalted butter (room temperature) in a stand mixer or with electric beaters.
2. Add 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla and ½ teaspoon kosher salt.
3. Then slowly add 3 ¼ cups of powdered confectioner sugar and beat until completely combined and smooth.
4. Line baking sheets with either parchment paper or wax paper and make tablespoon sized buckeye balls with your hands.  Place buckeye balls on baking sheets and freeze for 15 minutes.
5. While they are in the freezer, melt 12 ounces of chocolate candy melts in a microwave bowl at 10 second increments, stirring each time, until melted.
6. Take buckeyes out of the freezer and dip them into the melted chocolate, leaving "an eye" of peanut butter on top.  Place the balls dipped in chocolate back on the wax paper lined cookie sheet and allow chocolate to harden in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes.
7. Store buckeyes for up to 2 weeks in an air tight container in the refrigerator or up to 6 months in the freezer.

Buckeye Assembly Tips

*Creamy peanut butter, like Jiff or Petter Pan, work better than natural peanut butter that has a higher oil content.

If you do use a natural peanut butter or natural almond butter, add additional powdered sugar 1 tablespoon at a time until you can roll it easily in a ball.

If you only have a stick of salted butter in your refrigerator, use that.  Don't make a special run to the store for unsalted butter.  Simply omit the salt from the recipe until after you've added the powered sugar.  Taste the peanut butter mix and if it seems too sweet, add a pinch of salt.

I generally recommend using a fine or coarse kosher salt over iodized table salt (know know, the one with the little girl) because it's less salty.  However, if you only have table salt, use that but only ½ of what the recipe calls for because it's very salty.  You can always add more.

Getting a small peanut butter buckeye "eye" can be a bit tricky.  Try spearing the balls with 1 or 2 toothpicks to hold them as you dip.  Then smooth over the whole after it's resting on the cookie sheet.  Or use long kabob sticks or chopsticks to roll them around and lift them out.

Buckeye Candy Recipe Variations

This buckeye candy recipe was inspired by the Buckeye Friends School, a new experiential school opening this fall in our area.  It threw in me into the way-back machine and reminded me of the candies my mom used to make around the holidays.  I loved their fudge-like texture and chocolate shell.

You can't go wrong with this combo.  But if you want to try a bit of a twist, here are some fun variations.

• Swap out peanut butter for a different spread: Cadbury's milk chocolate spread, Nutella, Biscoff cookie spread, or Birthday Cake protein almond butter.
• Dip your buckeyes in dark chocolate, white chocolate, or swirl them together.
• Add in ½ cup of 1 of the following to the peanut butter mix: rice crispies, mini chocolate chips, chai seeds, oats, or ground flax seeds
• Roll them in coconut flakes, mini chocolate chips, or crushed pretzels before the chocolate sets.

A Little Something Sweet

Not only are these the perfect size for when you're craving a little somethin' something, but they're fun to pop into a lunchbox or take to a Christmas cookie swap.

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