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Peanut Butter Chocolate Balls – AKA Buckeye candy are delicious balls of creamy peanut butter coated in chocolate. A must for the holidays!
You all know that I am a huge fan of chocolate and peanut butter, so this recipe should come as no surprise. These have become a staple at my house during the holidays. Peanut Blossoms are a classic holiday cookie, but these should be right up there on the list of must makes.
And if you are a fan of peanut butter then you HAVE to check out Reese’s Fudge, it seriously might be the most requested recipe whenever I make it for people.
It kind of depends on where you are from if you call these Buckeye Candy or something else. Most of the country has adopted the Buckeye term, but when I was growing up they were just called peanut butter balls. So that is what I know them as.
Either way, they are pretty much the exact same thing! I just dip mine all the way in chocolate, instead of leaving some exposed so they look like a buckeye nut.
What You’ll Need
- Creamy Peanut Butter
- Butter
- Vanilla Extract
- Powdered Sugar
- Melting Chocolate
Yep, just 5 ingredients is all you need! You may see some versions that have rice krispie cereal in there for texture, but I am a purist and just like the super creamy center.
How To Make Peanut Butter Balls
- Combine the peanut butter, butter, vanilla and powdered sugar in a large bowl. Mix until everything is well combined. You can either do this in a stand mixer (the easiest day) or use a spatula in a large bowl. It really doesn’t matter, you just need to get the mixture smooth.
- Roll the peanut butter mixture into 1 inch sized balls. Refrigerate for 30 minutes to harden before you start rolling. You just want them to firm up a little, so they don’t fall apart when you dip in the chocolate.
- Roll the balls in melted chocolate and place on a baking sheet to set up.
- Allow the chocolate to harden before serving.
Buckeye Candy Recipe Tips
- For a smooth and creamy center you want to use creamy peanut butter, not crunchy. And this is the time to break out the Skippy or Jif type peanut butter. This doesn’t work quiet as well with the all natural peanut butters.
- For the chocolate don’t use chocolate chips. They have stabilizers in them to keep their shape, so it is much harder to get a thin, smooth coating. I like to use the chocolate almost bark, or the chocolate melting disks.
- If you want your candy to look like a true Buckeye nut, insert a toothpick in the top and only dip partially in chocolate, so you have the top 1/3rd of peanut butter still exposed. I prefer it completely coated, so I use 2 forks to dip the peanut butter balls.
Storage
Store your peanut butter balls in an airtight container. They will last in the fridge for about a month. I like to take them out a few minutes before I serve them, so they are closer to room temperature to eat them. But some people enjoy them straight out of the fridge.
Freezing – these freeze amazingly well. Just store in an airtight container for 3-4 months. Take them out and thaw in the fridge before serving.
More Must Make Christmas Cookie Recipes
- Cornflake Cookies
- Andes Mint Cake Mix Cookies
- Chocolate Covered Pretzels
- Avalanche Cookies
- Christmas Magic Cookie Bars
- Frosted Sugar Cookies
- Reese’s Peanut Butter Cookies
- Grinch Sugar Cookie Bites
Peanut Butter Chocolate Balls
Video
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups peanut butter
- 1/2 cup butter, softened
- 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 pound powdered sugar
- 1 pound chocolate almond bark, melted
Instructions
- Combine the peanut butter, butter, vanilla and powdered sugar in a large bowl. Mix until everything is well combined.
- Roll into 1 inch sized balls. Refrigerate for 30 minutes to harden before you start rolling.
- Roll the balls in melted chocolate. Allow the chocolate to harden before serving.
- I like to store mine in an air tight container, in the fridge. They also freeze very well.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Can you use natural peanut butter?
You can try it, but it may be crumbly. The oil is regular peanut butter helps it stick together well.
With that much powered sugar they are too sweet. The best ones are the ones that use crushed graham crackers, some powered sugar and peanut butter in the filling.
They are very similar to Buckeyes or peanut butter balls. They are sweet, but I don’t think they are too sweet. Enjoy!
Hi question re the choc almond bark, several people I know are allergic to tree nuts so if I’m gonna substitute reg baking choc to melt would it be semi-sweet or unsweetened choc and would quantity be same as almond bark? Tx. Thinking bout making them for my daughters college dorm.
Debbi
Debbie, almond bark does not contain nuts. It is just chocolate with vegetable oil in it. It got it’s name because it was originally used to coat almonds and other nuts in homemade candies. It melts very smooth and easy, that is why it is used. You can use any chocolate you would like, substituting the same amount. Chocolate almond bark is equivelant to milk chocolate. You can check the back of the packaging for ingredients at the store, in the baking aisle, but nuts are not listed as an allergn on the packagem
My mom used to make these every Christmas and I would gobble them up! Going to have to make them for her this year 🙂
They look fabulous! Stumbled upon this and went to the store to get the ingredients! It’s a must make!!
These are so delish! I’m totally drooling over this goodness, can’t wait to try!
Best flavor combo EVER! Can’t wait to make these for the holidays!
I love peanut butter everythinf. These chocolate balls look amazingly delicious!
These will quickly disappear in my house! Looks so good!
Could I use regular thick hershey bar instead of the bark? I’ve only got one bar of the chocolate bark and it’s not a pound. Thank you for the great recipe.
Yep, you can use any chocolate that you have. The bark just melts smoother and is easier to use. But I have used chocolate chips and random other pieces of chocolate before and it works great.