Buckeye Candy
Buckeye candy is one of my favorite no-bake desserts. They are basically peanut butter balls dipped in chocolate, but although they seem humble in ingredients, they are quite delicious.
They really come together fast and the best thing about them is that they can be made ahead of time. Storing them in a fridge will not have an impact on their taste or appearance.
Ingredients For Buckeye Candy
As mentioned, they are very easy to make. I am sure you probably have all the ingredients in your pantry already.
Peanut butter, butter, vanilla, salt, powdered sugar, and chopped chocolate is all you need. Buckeye candies are one of the smoothest and easiest candies out there, and they require absolutely no baking.
Choosing The Peanut Butter
I just love the smooth peanut butter, as it gives a really nice texture. I did experiment with the chunky version, but it did not look nice at all.
They had a weird texture and overall appearance. So, don’t go wild as me, and stick with the smooth peanut butter.
As a special addition, you can add in some peanut butter powder. 1 or 2 tablespoons will be enough, and will give an extra kick of flavor. Also, you can make the buckeyes with more peanut butter powder for a lower-fat option.
Use just ½ cup of peanut butter with 6 tbsp peanut powder, and some maple syrup, just to bind all the ingredients nicely.
The mixture should somehow resemble Play-Doh in terms of texture and firmness.
Which Chocolate To Use
I always go with dark chocolate. Besides having a better flavor, the overall appearance is so much better. Also, this chocolate has less sugar, so your buckeye candy will not be too sweet in the end.
If you think the chocolate chips are a good option, I advise you to skip them. I know they seem like the easiest option, and the least expensive.
But while they are great for cookies and sweet bread, they are not the best option for confections like buckeyes.
The reason is that chocolate morsels contain stabilizers, which help them keep their perfect shape even after they are melted and cooled. Still, that is not the quality we are looking for when making buckeyes.
Instead, the chocolate that loses its shape and melts into a rich puddle is the right choice here. Once dipped and lifted, the chocolate will drain easily, leaving you with a perfect amount of the shiny and smooth chocolate coating.
Take a look at our article The Best Chocolate For Melting for suggestions.
How Sweet Are These Buckeye Candies?
Despite all the powdered sugar in these candies, they are still not too sweet. Thanks to the peanut butter and just a tiny bit of salt (to balance out the flavor), and dark chocolate coating, buckeyes really hit the spot.
Tips For The Perfect Buckeye Candies
- Use smooth peanut butter because it will give you really nice and smooth buckeyes. Choose the Jiff or Skippy peanut butter, because these contain the right amount of oil.
- To balance out the sweetness, add a pinch of salt. Still, if you find the mixture to sweet, you can add in some cream cheese or even some ground salted graham crackers.
- For a shiny chocolate coating, melt your chocolate with a bit of coconut oil. Once cooled, besides being shiny, the chocolate will have a snap to it.
- Chilling the candies is the most important thing. If you do not allow your peanut butter to chill and firm up, your candies will be too soft, and when dipping them into the chocolate, they may just slip away from the toothpick. So, always chill your buckeyes for at least 2 hours.
- Do not place coated buckeyes in the freezer. Although this may feel like a fast option, placing warm chocolate in a freezer will make it only sweat. The buckeyes will have droplets of condensed water on the surface and will not look good. Always chill the buckeyes in the fridge.
Buckeye Candy Recipe
Preparation time: 3 hours
Yield: 18 buckeye
Ingredients
- ½ cup peanut butter
- 3 tbsp butter
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 1 good pinch of salt
- 1 cup chocolate chips
Instructions
1. In a mixing bowl, beat butter and peanut butter until smooth.
2. Fold in salt, vanilla, and powdered sugar.
3. Stir until smooth.
4. Shape the mixture into 18 balls.
5. Place the balls on a parchment paper baking sheet and pop in the fridge for 2 hours.
6. Melt the chocolate in a microwave until smooth. Do this in 30-second intervals.
7. Insert a toothpick in each ball and coat them with chocolate. Shake the excess chocolate.
8. Arrange the buckeye on a baking sheet, with parchment paper.
9. Refrigerate the buckeyes for another hour. Remove the toothpicks and scrape over the holes gently until they are gone.
10. Serve buckeyes as desired.
Buckeye Candy
These buckeye candies have just the right amount of sweetness and are so easy to pull together!
Ingredients
- ½ cup peanut butter
- 3 tbsp butter
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 1 good pinch of salt
- 1 cup chocolate chips
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl, beat butter and peanut butter until smooth.
- Fold in salt, vanilla, and powdered sugar.
- Stir until smooth.
- Shape the mixture into 18 balls.
- Place the balls on a parchment paper baking sheet and pop in the fridge for 2 hours.
- Melt the chocolate in a microwave until smooth. Do this in 30-second intervals.
- Insert a toothpick in each ball and coat them with chocolate. Shake the excess chocolate and arrange the buckeyes on a baking sheet, with parchment paper.
- Refrigerate the buckeyes for another hour. Remove the toothpicks and scrape over the holes gently until they are gone.
- Serve buckeyes as desired.
