Peanut Butter Buckeyes

Joe is a big fan of college sports.  Which is to say, college basketball and college football.  His favorite college football team is Ohio State Buckeyes.  What you probably don't know is that in real life, buckeyes are an inedible nut that have light a brown inner circle with a glossy, darker brown outer shell.  These buckeyes look pretty similar, but are made with chocolate and peanut butter.

The best part is that they're easy to make and, like most candy, you spend more time waiting for them to harden than anything else.  And by waiting, I mean saying "oh that one broke, I better try it and make sure they taste okay."  The recipe says to work with only a few peanut butter balls at a time, and that's definitely true.  I ended up having to put mine back in the freezer a few times because they got a little too soft and started to fall apart once I stabbed them with a toothpick. 

I don't want to call these a fail because they definitely weren't, but they were also not as popular as I had hoped.  When I made them, Joe had a toothache that made it hard for him to eat anything, but especially sweets.  My mom and brother both though they were good, but that they were too peanut butter-y/not chocolatey enough - which, in retrospect, are pretty much the same complaint.  Joe's boss, who gave me recipe and requested I make them, also was pretty "meh" about them.

Me? I LOVED these.  The recipe makes about 3 dozen and I might have eaten 2 dozen or so all by myself.  Whatevs.  They were DELICIOUS!  They taste like an overstuffed Reese's peanut butter cup, only about a million times better. 

Peanut Butter Buckeyes
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Ingredients
2 cups confectioners sugar
3/4 cup smooth peanut butter
4 Tbsp butter, melted
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
6 oz. dipping chocolate

Line a large cookie sheet with wax or parchment paper.

Combine sugar, peanut butter, butter and vanilla in a mixing bowl and beat well with a wooden spoon.  The dough will be thick and hard to stir, so you may need to use your hands. Roll the peanut butter mixture into 1" balls and place on the lined cookie sheet in a single layer.  Freeze until firm, about 20 minutes.

Melt chocolate according to package directions.

Working with about 6 peanut butter balls at a time, insert a toothpick into the center and dip about three-quarters of the ball into the chocolate.  You want to leave a circle of peanut butter visible in the middle.  Twirl off the excess chocolate and transfer to another lined cookie sheet, chocolate side down.  Repeat with remaining peanut butter balls, reheating chocolate as necessary. As chocolate starts to harden, smooth out the toothpick holes left in the peanut butter.

Freeze buckeyes until firm, about 1 hour.  Store in an airtight container in the fridge or freezer.

Yields about 36.

These are not edible

But these definitely are!