Buckeyes

I decided that I needed to mix up my Christmas cookies this year, so I’m doing a trial run of some new treats.  First up, buckeyes.  These were not hard to make, but do require some time, especially if you’re making a bunch.  The good news is, you can break this recipe up and make the “dough” ahead of time, roll it into balls and freeze it.  When you’re ready to dip them into chocolate, it will take you no time.  I mixed and matched a few recipes that I found and came up with this one – I even added in some Rice Krispies for a little crunch… enjoy!

INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 stick unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1 3/4 – 2 cups confectioners sugar
• Optional: Approximately 1/3 – 1/2 cup Rice Krispies
• 1 – 12 oz. bag semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 tsp vegetable shortening (i.e. Crisco)

*Recipe yields approximately 40-45 bite-size buckeyes

HOW TO MAKE IT

• Beat together the butter, 1 cup peanut butter, salt and vanilla extract
• Slowly add in the powdered sugar, 1/2 cup at a time
  • Now this is where I ran into problems – my initial mixture was VERY dry and crumbly.  The recipe I was using had called for 2 1/4 cups sugar and only 3/8 cup peanut butter.  I kept adding in more and more peanut butter and working the mixture with my hands to get it to be moist.  Once it got to the right consistency, I stopped adding peanut butter.  You want it to be moist enough so that it will hold together when you roll it into a ball.  If you’re having the opposite problem and your mixture is too soft, simply add in more powdered sugar.
• Lastly, if you want some crunch to your buckeyes, add in the Rice Krispies – you can really use as much or as little as you want, but if you add too much it will be harder to  form the mixture into smooth balls
• You will most likely need to work this mixture with your hands – almost kneading it to get everything really well blended and “dough-like”
• Once you’ve reached the desired consistency, roll your mixture into balls of desired size – I used a small ice cream scooper to try to get them all roughly the same size – and place them on a parchment paper lined baking sheet
  • If the dough is hard to work with, put it in the fridge for 15 minutes
• Once you’ve finished rolling the balls, put them in the freezer until they’re totally hard (this will make dipping much easier) – at this point, if you want to dip at a later date, just leave them in an airtight container in the freezer and resume whenever you’re ready

DIPPING

• Put your chocolate chips and shortening in a microwave safe bowl and microwave at 30 second intervals while stirring thoroughly in between (you probably won’t exceed 1 minute 30 seconds, be careful not to burn the chocolate!)
• Once the chocolate is smooth and totally melted, use a toothpick and spoon to begin your dipping process (pierce the buckeye with the toothpick and dip right into the chocolate using the spoon to help you if you need it – I used a holiday sprinkle to cover the hole)
• Once dipped, place the ball back onto the parchment paper lined baking tray to harden (to speed up the hardening process, you can put these in the fridge for a few minutes)
• Store these in the fridge until you’re ready to serve!