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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4 comments:
These look great. Also a Penn State fan, but I may make an exception for these lucious little candies.
I grew up in Ohio - my grandma made these all the time! MAN are they sweet!!! Need a ginormous glass of milk to go with them, but I love them!
I lived in O-hi for 30 years before moving to Colorado so I'm VERY familiar with Buckeyes. If I may provide a suggestion and it should cut down on that 3 hours... split up the peanut butter "dough" and put it into the freezer in smaller sections. Pull out one baggie of "dough" at a time and then you won't have to keep returning it back to the freezer to wait over and over. You'll cut down on the time and want to make them much sooner. :o)
I've never heard of these delightful buckeye's before but I love them already! We need more peanut butter sweets in Australia.
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