Buckeye Balls
These Buckeye Balls consist of a sweet peanut butter truffle dipped in melted chocolate and chilled. They are a deliciously easy no-bake dessert recipe that will make all you chocolate peanut butter lovers swoon!
Peanut butter and chocolate is a match made in heaven. I loved the creamy peanut butter center of these chilled peanut butter balls, so I used it to inspire these delicious Buckeye Brownies! I can’t get enough of them! For more chocolate peanut butter treats, try my Peanut Butter Brownie Cookies, No Bake Peanut Butter Pie, Peanut Butter Blossoms Cookie or my Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip Cookies!
Why This Recipe Works
- Easy buckeye recipe. I’m not even kidding here, friends. These buckeye balls are the easiest dessert recipe out there. It uses only 7 ingredients, comes together in no time at all, no baking at all, no cooking at all, and is so delicious you’ll just keep popping them in one after the other!
- No baking necessary. No bake desserts are the best! You don’t have to wait for anything to cook! These are simply rolled, dipped and chilled!
- Peanut butter chocolate heaven. If you love peanut butter and chocolate, then this best buckeye recipe is for you — it is chocolate and peanut butter in the purest form! Sweet peanut butter balls dipped in chocolate? You can’t get any richer and more delicious than that!
- Make ahead dessert. There seem to always be days when I crave a treat (probably every other day! 🤫). And I just want something quick and delicious! Well, this is the recipe for those moments. They’re perfect to satisfy that sweet tooth of yours and are great for a party finger food treat. You can also try my buckeye brownies recipe for you brownie lovers out there!
Ingredient Notes
- Peanut Butter: The star of the show! You can use creamy peanut butter, cashew butter, almond butter. Note: if you use a different nut butter it will alter the taste of the dessert. I like using smooth peanut butter for that smooth texture. If you use crunchy peanut butter you’ll have pieces of peanuts in there.
- Butter: Softened. Yes, we want butter on top of peanut butter. Trust me 🙂
- Vanilla Extract: Don’t ever make peanut butter buckeyes without vanilla. It’s a must!
- Powdered Sugar: This aides in consistency and sweetness. It also helps so the peanut butter ball mixture doesn’t stick to the roof of your mouth when you eat it.
- Semisweet Chocolate: I recommend baking chocolate to get the best results.
- Vegetable Shortening: The vegetable shortening helps the chocolate melt easier for dipping and then harden at room temperature. You can use coconut oil for the chocolate coating instead if you’d like.
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Make the peanut butter filling. In a large mixing bowl (or in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment), beat 1 cup peanut butter, 6 T softened butter, 1/4 tsp vanilla, 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar, and 1/4 tsp kosher salt together until fully combined.
- Form into balls. Roll the peanut butter mixture into 2-tsp-sized balls and place on a parchment lined baking sheet. Freeze for 15 minutes or until cold.
- Melt the chocolate. In a medium microwave-safe bowl, melt 1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate (about 8 oz) and 1 tsp vegetable shortening, stirring every 20 seconds until fully melted.
- Dip the peanut butter balls. Stick a toothpick in the center of each peanut butter ball. Dip it in the melted chocolate, leaving a circle of peanut butter visible on the top of the ball (this gives it the classic look like the buckeye seeds). Let any excess chocolate drip off, then return to the baking sheet and remove the toothpick. Repeat with rest of the creamy peanut butter balls.
- Chill the buckeyes. Chill the buckeye balls in the fridge for 20 minutes or until the chocolate has set. Smooth over the top of each ball to remove the toothpick hole. Enjoy!
Recipe Tips
Be sure to really scrape down the sides of your bowl when making the peanut butter filling mixture. You want to get everything combined really well or else some of your homemade buckeyes will be too wet and some will be too crumbly.
Be sure to put the toothpicks about 3/4 of the way into the ball so they don’t slide off when you are dipping them. Making sure they are very very cold helps as well! If you need to pop them back in the freezer for 5 minutes, do!
Having the peanut butter balls cold also helps the chocolate set up faster.
Make sure not to add more powdered sugar. More powdered sugar would create a more crumbly buckeye.
Using natural peanut butter? Just be sure to mix really well to fully incorporate all that oil from the top layer.
Feel free to use milk chocolate, semi-sweet chocolate, or dark chocolate for dipping!
Make Ahead, Storing, and Freezing
You can definitely make this buckeyes recipe ahead of time! I love to make a big batch and keep them in the freezer; then I can have a delicious dessert bite when the craving hits.
Store in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.
You can freeze the finished buckeye treats. Place them in an airtight container or a zip-top freezer bag and store in the freezer for 2-3 months.
Recipe FAQs
Glad you asked. If you’re into sports at all, you may have heard of the Ohio State Buckeyes. Ring a bell? Well, the state tree of Ohio is the buckeye. The nut of the buckeye tree (or seeds) are circular with a dark brown color and a light brown circle in the middle. These buckeye treats — chocolate-dipped peanut butter balls with a light brown circle in the middle — were named because of their resemblance to the buckeye seed.
Yep! Make sure the buckeyes are chilled so the chocolate exterior isn’t soft. Store the buckeyes in a zip-top bag in the freezer for 2-3 months.
Yes you can. Just be sure to really mix the peanut butter to fully incorporate the layer of oil at the top.
You’d think they would be, but the peanut butter really balances it out!
More Chocolate Peanut Butter Recipes
- Peanut Butter Bliss Balls
- Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Balls
- Peanut Butter Cup Cookies
- Peanut Butter Blossom Cookies
- Chocolate Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting
Buckeyes Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup creamy peanut butter
- 6 tablespoons butter - softened
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 1/2 cups powered sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate - chopped (about 8 oz)
- 1 teaspoon vegetable shortening
Instructions
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl beat the peanut butter, butter, vanilla, powdered sugar, and salt together until fully combined.
- Scoop the mixture into 2 tsp sized balls and place on the baking sheet. Freeze for 15 minutes or until cold and firm, or chill in the fridge for 30-45 minutes.
- In a microwave safe bowl melt the chocolate and vegetable shortening, stirring every 20 seconds until melted.
- Stick a toothpick in the center of the peanut butter ball. Lift it into the melted chocolate and cover the peanut butter ball, leaving a circle of peanut butter visible on the top. Let excess chocolate drip off, then place on the baking sheet and remove the toothpick. Repeat with remaining peanut butter balls. Place in fridge for 20 minutes or until chocolate has set.
- Remove from the fridge and smooth out the toothpick hole using your finger or an offset spatula.
- Serve chilled or at room temperature. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for 2 weeks.
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One Comment on “Buckeye Balls”
I was looking for a Buckeye recipe and after eyeing a dozen of them, I chose this one because it included salt – an obvious pairing for somethign sweet.
I could’ve used clarification on whether the butter is unsalted or not. I went with unsalted, because that’s what I usually use for baking cookies.
After I added the butter, I realized that the recipe’s sugar content seemed high. My wife has always said she doesn’t like Buckeyes because they’re too sweet, but her grandmother’s recipe struck a perfect balance of salty and sweet. Buckeyes were one of my favorite sweets growing up, but my sweet tooth is more easily placated in adulthood, so I decided to try making Buckeyes that my wife could enjoy.
I ended up using 1/2 c of powdered sugar. I had was using a dark chocolate melting wafer for the coating, and had hoped this would reduce the sweetness; unfortunately, my wafers were already sweet.
The reduction in dry materials also made the batter hard to roll; I probably should’ve reduced the butter, too, or substituted chick pea flour to make up for the lost dry ingredients.
Next time I make them, I’m going to try altering the following:
1. Use unsweetened dark chocolate wafers.
2. Use 1/2 c brown sugar instead of powdered sugar, or reduce to 1/4 c powdered sugar.
3. Replace the omitted sugar with chick pea flour.