Buckeyes

This is how I do Buckeyes. They are not the perfect “marble” shape or size (more like 4 marbles smooshed together). They are probably not one bite… for most people, anyway. They are not weighed and proportioned evenly. Some have more peanut butter top showing. Others have an extra drizzle. One might even say there are a few ugly ones in the batch. It’s all good!! Mine may never look picture perfect, but, they are, unanimously, my family’s favorite treat, of all time.

The original Buckeye maker in my family was Grandma Latta, my dad’s mother, who grew up in Ohio. She would always have them packaged up in tins around the holidays. Large quantities of them had been known to mysteriously disappear from her extra freezer stash during family gatherings. I am lucky enough to have her hand written recipe for inspiration, but I knew I was going to have to make some updates. Since she started making these somewhere in the 1950’s (60's?,) her recipe includes Oleo, (margarine), and wax (eww!!). There wasn't a lot of money for extra grocery items. But, I still wanted to keep them simple, and of course, delicious. With the peanut butter and chocolate in the spotlight; no other ingredients trying to steal focus.

To make these, you will need some dark chocolate chips or melting wafers, that you think taste like good chocolate! I turn to Ghirardelli for these. I had recently begun using an avocado oil shortening for some cakes, and had it on hand. I knew I was going to incorporate that into the dough, in place of butter, which is more commonly used today over margarine. I also wanted to use powdered peanut butter, in place of some of the super sweet powdered sugar, to find out how it impacted the texture and flavor. I mixed in some sea salt, vanilla and milk powder, just to create a well rounded flavor profile. The result was a truffle- like, melt-in-your-mouth, soft, creamy, peanut butter filling, encased in a chocolate shell, with just enough snap. There was no tooth ache. There was no sugar hangover. Just the perfect salty, sweet, chocolatey, 3-ish bites of a nostalgic confection!! So, get out your knife and fork (if you’re scared they’re too big,) or save half for later, (insert my exaggerated eye roll,) but just know that however yours turn out, someone will be fighting you for the last one.

Ingredients:

7 ounces of avocado oil shortening (or other vegetable shortening) (I like this Chosen Foods brand) approximately 14 TBS, but weighing it is much easier

7 ounces of creamy peanut butter, traditional kind, not natural

3/4 cup powdered peanut butter (I like this Sunwarrior brand)

3 cups powdered sugar

2 TBS milk powder

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp pink Himalayan sea salt or other sea salt (or to taste)

10 ounces dark chocolate, around 60% or to taste

1 tsp coconut oil to thin and set chocolate coating

Maldon salt for topping, if desired

To prepare the peanut butter dough filling:

Combine the shortening and the peanut butter in the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, and cream together on medium low speed until smooth and incorporated. Scrape down the bowl and add the powdered peanut butter along with 2 cups of powdered sugar. Mix on medium for one minute and then scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl. Add the remaining cup of powdered sugar and the milk powder, vanilla and salt and mix again on medium speed. The sugar may collect on the bottom of the bowl and you will need to stop mixing and use a spatula to turn the dough around in the mixing bowl to make sure any loose ingredients are being mixed in. Continue mixing on medium until a scoopable dough has formed. Taste the mixture to determine if you would like to add more salt or sugar. Squeeze some dough into a ball in your hand to make sure it will hold shape, as well. It should have a very play-doh like texture. My son loves to assist with the testing and tasting at this point, as his patience is running thin for the end result.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Scoop out balls of dough using a spoon or cookie scoop and roll them in your hands and place in rows on the sheet. This is just to chill the dough before dipping in chocolate. Make the balls whatever size you want! I got about 32 buckeyes from this mixture and, as you can see, they are fairly large. You can make them smaller to yield more! Either way, they need to be cold and somewhat firm before dipping in the warm, melted chocolate. I left mine in the fridge overnight, covered with plastic, but you don’t have to wait that long. An hour would be sufficient.

Melt the chocolate with the coconut oil in a double boiler, or in the microwave, using a glass bowl. Stop and stir frequently until chips are completely melted. Then allow the chocolate to cool a bit before dipping the peanut butter balls. Line another baking sheet with parchment paper. Using a skewer or a fork or toothpick, gently lift a ball up and dip into the chocolate, leaving the top uncoated, as is the desired look of a buckeye. Place it on the baking sheet to set. The chocolate will form a puddle around the bottom, but it is fine, it will peel off when it’s firmed up. Sprinkle with flaky Maldon salt if you wish! Finish with all of the peanut butter balls. When I have some leftover chocolate, I tend to drizzle over the tops for a truffle-like finish, or dip some pretzels in it, and leave them to set with the buckeyes in the fridge. Place the sheet back in the fridge with the dipped buckeyes and allow the chocolate to harden. These are great eaten out of the fridge or after they sit at room temperature for 10-15 minutes. They will get softer the longer they sit out. Don’t worry about storage, they won’t last long!!

Tell me your family traditions with Buckeyes. I would love to hear!

Birthday cake for Dad