Easy Buckeye Cookies – Chocolate covered Peanut Butter Balls
Buckeye cookies are chocolate covered smooth and creamy super easy peanut butter balls. They are a no bake cookie that is so easy to make with just a few ingredients. The hardest part of making Buckeyes is waiting for the peanut butter balls to refrigerate so they can be dipped in delicious dark chocolate.
Why are they called Buckeye Cookies?
The Buckeye tree is the state tree of Ohio, USA. The Buckeye tree has a Buckeye nut that is extremely hard round, glossy coffee brown with a light brown spot on the top. Do not try to eat them. But they are so beautiful to decorate with.
The Ohio State University (yes you have to have “the” in front of the name) has its school symbol the Buckeye tree leaf and the Buckeye nut is everywhere on campus. People make necklaces out of them, wear then as earrings and are printed on every type of clothing.
After I graduated from The Ohio State University, and we were married, I planted 2 buckeye trees in your yard. They are about 20 feet tall now and every year we have hundreds of buckeye nuts. I collect them and decorate for fall, give them to friends and made lamps out of them.
My husband and son love peanut butter and any dessert with peanut butter in it. I make an Easy Peanut Butter Oatmeal Bar Cookie that is a fun after school snack or to take along on a road trip. I am so glad this is a bar cookie recipe as they disappear so fast you can easily make a second batch.
How to make Buckeye cookies
The recipe for for Buckeye candy cookies is super simple. You just mix the peanut butter ingredients, roll into balls any size you like and put in the refrigerator for 2 hours to chill. Use your hands to roll to cookies and the warmth of your hand shapes the ball nut shape.
After they are cold, melt the chocolate and put a toothpick in the center dip in the melted chocolate. When you set the dipped chocolate covered peanut butter deliciousness, remove the toothpick and use the tip of your finger to smooth out the hole that was left by the toothpick. This way the warmth of your finger makes a smooth top to the cookie.
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Variations for No Bake Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter Balls – Buckeyes
- You can use milk chocolate or dark chocolate or make some with on and some with the other.
- I used creamy peanut butter but you could also use chunky peanut butter.
- Ghirardelli chocolate dark melting wafers are so delicious, decadent and creamy but you can also melt chocolate chips, dark or milk chocolate.
- I make mine cookies to look like the Buckeye nut, but if you are cutting down on chocolate, you can only cover them halfway.
- Dipping the peanut butter balls all the way in chocolate and covering them totally like a truffle.
- Serve at an Ohio State Football game party, not just for a Christmas Cookie.
Equipment Needed
- Cookie sheet
- Wax paper or parchment paper
- tooth pics
- Stand or hand mixer
- Chocolate for melting
Easy Buckeye Cookies – Chocolate covered Peanut Butter Balls
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 24 1x
- Category: Cookie
- Method: No bake
- Cuisine: American
Description
Super simple no bake holiday candy. Smooth and creamy on the inside, with a rich dark chocolate coating on the outside. Delicious for Christmas or an Ohio State football game (the Buckeyes)
Ingredients
- 1 cup (2 sticks) of butter at room temperature
- 2 cups of creamy peanut butter
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla
- pinch of salt
- 5 cups of confectioners sugar
For the Chocolate Coating:
- 2 cups melted Ghirardelli Chocolate Dark Melting Wafers
- 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
- Wooden Tooth Picks Round
Instructions
- Cover a baking sheet with wax paper
- In your mixer’s mixing bowl or a large mixing bowl combine the butter, peanut butter, vanilla and salt, mix well.
- Add to this the confectioner’s sugar and mix a little at a time on low.
- Using a small cookie scoop, or two spoons make uniform small balls. I find it is easier to use two spoons and roll the mixture in your hands (coat your hands with a little butter, and the warmth of your hands make the balls smooth)
- Place the peanut butter balls on the wax paper and they can be fairly close together.
- Refrigerate the peanut butter ball for at leas 2 hours, they need to be cold and hard to be able to dip.
- When it is time to dip the peanut butter balls in chocolate; melt the disks in the microwave one minute at a time. After each minute stir until melted. Melt 1/2 cup to 3/4 cup of the disks at a time.
- Put the melted chocolate in a low sided bowl.
- Remove the peanut butter balls from the refrigerator and one at a time take a toothpick and picking up one ball and rolling the ball in the chocolate leaving a little of the top with out any chocolate.
- As you remove the buckeye from the chocolate, gently scrape the bottom on the side of the bowl or use a side of a spoon to take the excess chocolate as you move it to the wax paper.
- Place the chocolate covered peanut ball on the wax paper to harden.
- Take your finger and smooth out the hole that is left in the top of the Buckeye.
- Allow the chocolate to harden, I put mine back in the refrigerator.
- Keep them refrigerated until you are ready to serve.
Keywords: Easy Buckeye Cookies Chocolate covered Peanut Butter Balls
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