Name: Buckeye Candy (Chocolate Peanut Butter Balls)
Prep time: 15 min
Yield: 64 candies
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1 pound powdered sugar; 1 stick (113 grams) of butter, softened; 1 1/2 cups peanut butter; 1 teaspoon vanilla; 1/2 teaspoon salt; Melting chocolates

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This buckeye candy recipe is one that my family has used for many years. These chocolate peanut butter balls are especially popular in Ohio (the Buckeye State), but the combination of peanut butter and chocolate in this easy candy recipe is irresistable no matter where you grew up.

Five buckeye candies in a row on a white plate, with text overlay reading "Buckeye Candy (Chocolate peanut butter balls)."

I grew up in an Air Force family, and we were stationed in Ohio twice when I was a kid. Buckeye candies were always a staple of holiday cookie and candy trays. The love of these chocolate covered peanut butter balls extends far past the borders of Ohio, of course. I remember my grandmother in Iowa making them at Christmastime.

Box of Buckeye Candy ready to be wrapped with a red ribbon bow.

What is Buckeye Candy?

Buckeye candies are homemade peanut butter and chocolate candies that look like the buckeye nuts (actually seeds) from the American buckeye tree. The peanut butter balls are only partially dipped in chocolate, leaving a circle of the lighter peanut butter visible, so that the candy looks like real buckeyes (which are toxic, and should not be eaten).

Buckeye candies are gluten free and no-bake, and are a lovely addition to any holiday sweets tray.

Graphic for the Festive Christmas Ideas blog hop.

Welcome back to year 6 of our Festive Christmas Event where we team up with a bunch of talented blogging friends to bring you a plethora of creative ways to celebrate your holiday season.

We will be baking some cookie recipes for you, sharing some party games, making some handmade gifts, doing some ornament crafting, and sharing our Christmas movies family fun. There will be breakfast recipes and as always our decorated Christmas Trees which is always a fun tour of homes.

You will find new ideas every Monday and Wednesday between Oct. 19th through Nov. 18th. Scroll all the way down to find all the ideas linked at the end. Our theme today is Sweet Treats for Christmas--yum!

Ingredients for Buckeye Candy Recipe.

Buckeye Candy Recipe

1 pound powdered sugar
1 stick (113 grams) of butter, softened
1 1/2 cups peanut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt
Melting chocolates

Ingredients for Buckeye Candy Recipe being mixed together in a Kitchenaid Mixer.

How to Make Buckeye Candy

Start by creaming together the peanut butter and softened butter.

Add the salt and vanilla and mix.

Buckeye Candy peanut butter ball ingredients mixed together in a Kitchenaid mixer.

Add the powdered sugar and mix until it is combined and has a stiff cookie-dough-like texture.

Peanut butter balls for Buckeye Candy being shaped into balls.

Form into 1" balls. I used my cookie scoop and cut each scoop in half to get peanut butter balls that were the perfect size.

Wax paper lined baking tray full of peanut butter balls ready to be dipped in chocolate to make Buckeye Candies.

Don't worry if your balls are a little wonky in shape--so are real buckeyes!

Melted chocolate for covering peanut butter balls to make Buckeye Candy.

Melt melting chocolates to coat the peanut butter balls. I like Ghirardelli brand melting chocolates the best (WAY better than Wilton). They melt beautifully and taste delicious.

Can I use Chocolate Chips instead of Melting Chocolates to make Buckeye Candy?

Yes, absolutely! I have a number of truly old recipes for buckeyes, passed down from relatives and from old church cookbooks and the like. Most of them actually call for using melted chocolate chips, melted together with a couple Tablespoons of paraffin wax. I don't have paraffin wax on hand, and I do have nice chocolate melts (which are already formulated not to need additives like wax or complicated techniques like tempering chocolate). That's why I went with the chocolate melts. But if you want to use chocolate chips, you absolutely can. If you don't have paraffin wax, you can thin the melted chocolate chips and make it easier for dipping with a Tablespoon or two of oil or vegetable shortening.

Peanut butter ball being partially dipped in melted chocolate to make Buckeye Candy.

Use a toothpic to dip the peanut butter balls in the melted chocolate, taking care to leave a circle of the peanut butter visible at the top of the candy.

Buckeye candy peanut butter balls dipped in chocolate using a toothpick.

Let most of the chocolate drip off of the peanut butter ball so you don't end up with a big puddle of chocolate at the bottom of the candy. I'm still working on this and a bunch of my buckeyes definitely have little chocolate feet. At least they're still delicious!

Buckeye Candies setting up in the fridge.

Put in the fridge to set the chocolate.

After the chocolate has hardened, you can smush the peanut butter a bit to hide the hole left by the toothpick.

How to Store Buckeye Candy

Buckeye Candy in a food safe cardboard container for gift-giving.

Buckeye candies should be kept in the refrigerator. This is probably because all of the recipes I have call for using melted chocolate chips, which brings the chocolate out of temper. Keeping the buckeye candies in the fridge will ensure that the chocolate has a nice snap, even without being tempered.

If you wanted to temper your chocolate, you could get a similar result at room temperature, too. Someday I'll have my pastry-chef mother teach me how to temper chocolate. But it hasn't happened yet, so in the fridge they go.

Buckeye Candies in a line on a white plate.

Buckeye candies always remind me of Christmases in Ohio in my childhood. Do you have a favorite treat that reminds you of the Christmases of your childhood?