Creamy peanut butter and chocolate is the best dessert combination, which makes Buckeyes an irresistible treat any time of year. (Secret: these taste like a popular peanut butter cup!)
Buckeyes remind me of Reese’s peanut butter cups – salty sweet peanut butter coated in chocolate. Best of all, you can make them at home with just a few simple ingredients. For a twist on this recipe, try Cherry Peanut Butter Balls.
Scroll down to read more about how it all comes together or click here to jump straight down to the recipe.
What Are Buckeyes?
Buckeyes are a sweet treat kind of between a candy and a no-bake cookie. They originate from Ohio where the buckeye is the mascot of Ohio State University and you can find buckeye nuts on trees. Don’t eat those though, they’re poisonous. Instead, enjoy this tasty buckeye recipe that only resembles the real deal made with peanut butter, powdered sugar, and chocolate.
Tips For Making Buckeye Candies
First of all, use smooth creamy peanut butter (not natural peanut butter as it will be too dry). It will combine perfectly with the powdered sugar and unsalted butter.
Next, each brand of peanut butter is slightly different in texture and consistency. If you notice the mixture is too sticky, add a little more powdered sugar. Add 1 tablespoon at a time until it’s a good consistency for rolling into a ball.
After you’ve rolled them, place them on parchment paper and freeze them. This is super important because you want the peanut butter mixture to coat nicely with the chocolate. While the peanut butter balls are in the freezer, melt your chocolate in the microwave.
What Chocolate To Coat Buckeyes?
You can use semi-sweet chocolate chips or chocolate wafers. Personally, I’ve noticed dipping the peanut butter mixture in chocolate wafers is better. It’s because chocolate wafers melt to a somewhat thinner consistency so they don’t require as much oil.
Once you dip each ball into the melted chocolate, place it back on the parchment paper and freeze them for another 5 minutes to harden the chocolate.
Do Buckeyes Need To Be Refrigerated?
It’s best to keep them refrigerated until a little bit before serving as they will last longer and you don’t need to worry about the chocolate getting soft. Also some peanut butter brands require refrigeration once opened. If you’d like to serve them at room temperature just set them out an hour or so before serving.
They last for a couple weeks in the fridge so it’s a great option to make ahead of time. They are great to serve or gift around Christmas.
More Sweet Recipes
- Easy Hot Chocolate Recipe
- How to Make Ganache
- Chocolate Bark Recipe
- No-Bake Thumbprint Cookies
- Snickerdoodle Bites
Podcast Episode About Making Buckeyes
Listen to our editor, Christine Pittman, explain briefly about how to make this recipe, with some great tips along the way, by clicking the play button below:
Listen to more Recipe of the Day episodes here.
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Buckeyes Recipe
Creamy peanut butter and chocolate is the best dessert combination, which makes Buckeyes an irresistible treat any time of year. (Secret: these taste like a popular peanut butter cup!)
- Prep Time: 45 Minutes
- Cook Time: 0 min
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 24 Balls 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: No-Cook
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 1 cup creamy peanut butter
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1/4 cup unsalted softened butter
- 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1/4 tsp. olive oil
Instructions
- In a large bowl combine peanut butter, powdered sugar, unsalted butter and vanilla extract. Mix with electric mixer until smooth.
- Take about 1 tablespoon of the mixture and make approximately 24 smooth balls. Place on parchment paper and put in the freezer for 20-30 minutes.
- In the meantime, prepare the chocolate. In a medium bowl combine chocolate chips and oil. Melt the chocolate in microwave for 30 seconds then stir and melt for another 30 seconds. Repeat until the chocolate is melted. If the chocolate is too thick, add additional 1/4 teaspoon of oil.
- Remove balls from the freezer and, using two forks or a toothpick, dip each ball into the chocolate. Leave a little circle of peanut butter showing on the top. Place back on the parchment paper and freeze for 5 minutes.
- Store in the refrigerator.
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This post originally appeared in December 2019 and was revised and republished in November 2023.