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I had a couple of requests for my Buckeye Candy recipe. The recipe I use is a mix between a standard Buckeye recipe that calls for paraffin wax, which I substitute with Crisco shortening and Jiffy's recipe. The wax or shortening is what makes the chocolate shiny. Make sure you have plenty of time to make this because the rolling and the dipping does take a little while. These are extremely rich and I can't eat more than 3 at a time. Great with milk.
Ingredients:
1 (18 oz) jar creamy peanut butter (I like to use Jiffy Creamy)
1/2 C butter, softened (you can substitute with margarine)
1 lb confectioners' sugar (~3.5 cups) (see Note below)
1 Tbsp vanilla
12 oz milk chocolate chips (you can substitute with semi-sweet)
1-2 Tbsp Crisco shortening (you can substitute with 3-4 oz of paraffin wax)
Makes 80 buckeyes
- Cream peanut butter and butter.
- Add sugar and vanilla and mix well.
- Form into 1 inch balls and refrigerate.
- Melt chocolate chips with Crisco shortening in a double boiler.
- Dip balls into chocolate with a toothpick about 3/4 of the way covered.
- Place chocolate side down on waxed paper. You can put a small dollop of chocolate over the hole. I often have lots of left over chocolate and like to use a fork to drizzle thin streams of chocolate over the buckeyes to give it a gourmet look. Kind of look like chocolate truffles.
- Let set at room temperature or refrigerate. I usually refrigerate to help speed up the cooling and hardening of the chocolate due to space. After they are set, I stack them in an airtight container and keep them in the refrigerator. I've kept some as long as 3 weeks.
Sorry, this isn't the best picture of the best rolled buckeyes. I finally got around to adding a picture and unfortunately, this one was the best of the bunch. Hey, never claimed to be a good photographer, hehe.Note: Depending on how oily the peanut butter is, you might need to add up to an additional 1 C of confectioner's sugar. I like to add about 1/4 C at a time, blending well. You want to get a consistency that's just starting to NOT stick to everything. Put a small dollop in your palm and roll it. If it doesn't stick, you're good to go. Something similar to the inside of a REESE'S® Peanut Butter Cup center (at room temperature).
Let me know how this works out for you. Now go roll and eat well.
6 comments:
I have tried so many recipes for buckeyes but this is the one. I love it thank you so much.!!!
Welcome sweetthing and thanks so much for your feedback. I'm glad this recipe worked out for you. Have a great holiday!
I don't have a double boiler. Can I melt the chocolate in the microwave? I really want to make this recipe for the holidays.
I feel I have better control with a double boiler. And you can set up a double boiler method using either a glass bowl or a stainless steel bowl that fits snuggly on top of a pot. Make sure the water never boils. Just want the water to be hot enough to melt the chocolate and that the bowl isn't touching the water. Be very careful not to get any water (not even a drop) into the chocolate or else it'll seize (turn grainy and become a large ugly mass). You won't be able to repair it for dipping but you can still use it for baking. Email me if this happens.
I've only used the microwave to melt chocolate once for another recipe but yes, you can do it that way.
Make sure you use a microwave-safe bowl. Even better a bowl that doesn't heat up too hot to the touch after heating for several minutes.
The thing with using microwaves is that it's very hard to give precise instructions on time and temp because microwaves vary so much. The amount of chocolate, its fat content also affects heating time.
Use a low power (around 50%) and use interval heating time to get it melted. Chocolate can hold its form even when melted. So stir between intervals to get a feel of how much has melted. This will also help incorporate the Crisco. You can always add a little more time to unmelted chocolate but once it's burnt, there's no saving it.
I couldn't find an exact time guide but a rough estimate is about 1 minute for 1 oz of chocolate, 3 minutes for 8 oz. I recommend 30 second intervals for under 2 lbs. Once the chocolate starts melting, it'll won't be long before the entire batch melts.
Take the chocolate out when it's almost completely melted. Even if there are some little chunks left, that's okay. Then stir until glossy and smooth, and all the chunks have melted.
While dipping, if the chocolate starts to get too thick, just reheat in the microwave to resoften. Just make sure you start with increments of 10 seconds or so until you get a feel for how long it takes (the shortest amount of time needed) to get the consistency you need. Remember to stir after heating.
Good luck and feel free to email with any questions.
Thanks for the double boiler tip. It worked great. The buckeye candies turned out tasty and my kids love them.
Glad to hear the double boiler worked for you! I just made a batch and "finally" added a picture.
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