So, growing up in Pennsylvania, I never really gave much thought to Ohio, other than knowing that it was a neighboring state, and hating Ohio State(GO PENN STATE!). I never actually pictured myself living in there. But come to pass, I met my (now) husband, and he was living in Ohio, so I moved to be with him, and ended up living in Ohio for about 4 years, before moving to northern Kentucky.
So...Buckeye's. Being a Penn State fan for most of my life, I knew that Ohio State's mascot was the buckeye, but I never knew that it was anything other than a nut.
Well, come to find out, buckeye's are also one of the most delicious candies on the block. Peanut butter and chocolate...what's not to love?
I had originally thought about making buckeye's as our wedding favor, but we ended up deciding to axe favors and have an open bar. Up until this past weekend, I thought that was the right choice, but seeing how these got gobbled up at my in laws 4th of July party this weekend, I might have been wrong.
These are incredibly simple, if time consuming to make, and the recipe makes a TON. It'll probably be awhile before I make these again, because, seriously time consuming, but they were SO worth it.
Buckeye's
Ingredients Needed:
2 cups creamy peanut butter(don't use all natural)
1/4 cup butter, softened
3 3/4 cups(or 16 oz) confectioners sugar
2 cups(12 oz bag) semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 tbsp shortening
To Make:
Mix peanut butter and butter together in a large mixing bowl until creamy. Beat in the powdered sugar until mixture is thoroughly moistened. Shape into 1 inch balls, and freeze 30-60 minutes.
Melt chocolate chips and shortening together in a double boiler, or in the microwave. If using the microwave, heat for 1 minute, then stir, and heat an additional 10-15 seconds at a time until chocolate is fully melted.
Using a toothpick, dip the peanut butter balls into the chocolate, leaving a small portion on top uncovered, then transfer to a parchment paper lined baking sheet. You can smooth over the toothpick hole with your finger if you want to. Refrigerate until chocolate is set, at least 2 hours. Store in fridge or freezer in a covered container.
So, when I said that these are time consuming, here's the deal: The peanut butter gets soft very quickly once it's removed from the freezer. I had to keep putting it back in the freezer for 10-15 minutes at a time, or the PB balls would just slide off the toothpick into the chocolate. All in all, to make the full recipe of buckeye's took about 3 hours. So make sure if you're making these that you have plenty of time, because they're going to take longer than you think they will. I will say again, however.....totally worth it. These are amazing. Like Reece's Peanut Butter Cups, but better, because they're mostly peanut butter. So good.
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