Buckeyes Recipe
These buckeyes are made with an irresistible peanut butter filling rolled into balls, frozen, then dipped in chocolate. Made with only 7 ingredients, this is the easiest and most delicious treat!
I’m not even kidding here, friends. This recipe is the easiest dessert recipe out there. It 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!
Peanut butter and chocolate is a match made in heaven. I can’t get enough of it. Whether it’s no-bake cookies, chocolate peanut butter protein balls, or muddy buddies, I’m a sucker for a delicious and easy chocolate and peanut butter recipe.
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!
So, what’s a buckeye? 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. And the buckeye tree produces these seeds that are circular with a dark brown color and a light brown circle in the middle. These peanut butter buckeye balls are named because they resemble this seed from the buckeye tree. Lil’ fun fact for ya there.
Ingredients
- Peanut butter — The star of the show. 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.
- Butter — Softened. Yes, we want butter on top of peanut butter. Trust me 🙂
- Vanilla extract — Don’t ever make buckeyes without vanilla. It’s a must!
- Powdered sugar — This aides in consistency and sweetness
- Salt — An important staple in any sweet recipe, too!
- Semisweet chocolate, chopped — For dipping the peanut butter balls!
- Vegetable shortening — The vegetable shortening helps the chocolate harden at room temperature. You can swap it out for coconut oil if you’d like. It just may bring a slight coconut flavor, FYI.
How to Make Buckeyes
- Make the peanut butter filling. 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 a parchment lined 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.
- 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 (this gives it the classic look like the buckeye seeds). Let excess chocolate drip off, then place on the baking sheet and remove the toothpick. Repeat with remaining peanut butter balls. Place in the fridge for 20 minutes or until the 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.
Tools Used for This Recipe
Small cookie scoop
Parchment paper – I love having the precut parchment, it saves so much time and it’s so convenient!
Stand mixer – I love my stand mixer and use it frequently, especially when making cookies and delicious desserts.
Recipe Tips
Store in the fridge in an airtight container for 5 days.
You can freeze the finished buckeyes. Place them in an airtight container or a freezer safe ziplock bag and store in the freezer for 2-3 months.
If the peanut butter balls are nearing room temperature, you’ll want to pop them in the freezer for 5 minutes or so. You want the balls very cold when dipping in the chocolate, otherwise they will slip off of the toothpick.
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.
FAQ
What are buckeyes?
A buckeye is a circular type of seed that has a dark brown color and a light brown circle in the middle. These buckeye treats — made with a peanut butter filling rolled into a ball and dipped in chocolate, leaving a light brown circle in the middle — were named because of their resemblance to the buckeye seed.
Can you freeze buckeyes?
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.
More Delicious Dessert Recipes
- Buckeye Brownies
If you make this recipe or any other recipe on Salt & Baker, I would greatly appreciate you coming back to leave a rating and review. Thank you so much! ❤️
Buckeyes
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 1 week.
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One Comment on “Buckeyes Recipe”
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.