Buckeyes

Wikipedia defines Buckeyes as a peanut butter and chocolate candy made to resemble the nut of a buckeye tree. However, what we made are Buckeyes with a twist. First, we coated it entirely with chocolate (pardon the scraggly appearance, the chocolate I used was a bit thick). Second, we put a "surprise" inside - a chocolate morsel hidden in the peanut butter.

Hubby described it this way: when you pop it into your mouth, you get the initial taste of the rich chocolate, then the creamy peanut butter kicks in, and just when the peanut butter taste is fading, you sink your teeth in that semi-sweet chocolate morsel in the middle and it's so good that you have to ask for more. Mmmmmm.

This recipe is from the Peter Pan peanut butter website, where my mother-in-law and I found this yummy dessert.


What you need:

3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups confectioner's sugar
1 1/4 cups semi-sweet chocolate morsel + about 1/4 cup more, divided


What to do:

In a small bowl, blend together the peanut butter, salt, butter, and confectioners sugar using an electric mixer on low speed for about 1 to 2 minutes. Mixture should be stiff by then. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper. Get a piece of chocolate morsel, cover it with the peanut butter mixture, then roll into small bite-sized balls, about 3/4 inch round. Do so until you have used all of the peanut butter mixture. Refrigerate until set, about 30 minutes.

Pre-dipped peanut butter balls

Melt the remaining chocolate morsels by putting it on the top of a double boiler with simmering water in the bottom. Place this on medium-low heat.

Insert a toothpick on top of a chilled peanut butter ball. Dip into melted chocolate, covering the entire ball. Place it on the prepared sheet pan. Repeat until all pieces are covered. Refrigerate until the chocolate is set, about 30 minutes. Place in an airtight container and refrigerate until ready to serve.


Tips, Tricks and Tweaks:

1. You can use other kinds of chocolate if you don't like the semi-sweet variety. Dark chocolate sounds good...
2. Don't have a double boiler? Microwave the chocolate. Or better yet, use a fondue pot.
3. If the chocolate seems too thick (like ours - but we like it that way!), add a tablespoon of canola oil to the chocolate when melting it.
4. If you want to make traditional buckeyes, leave 1/4 of the surface of the peanut butter ball free of chocolate.