You don’t have to be from Ohio to love Peanut Butter Buckeyes. These homemade buckeye candies have a soft peanut butter filling surrounded by rich chocolate. They’re simple to prepare and always a crowd-pleaser!
After you make these peanut butter balls, try my Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge or peanut butter brownies next!
The Best Buckeye Candy Recipe
If you’re not from Ohio or the Midwest, you’ve been missing out on Buckeyes! Thanks to my short life in Ohio, we found the BEST recipe. The ONLY way you should be making these candies.
They’re similar to a Reese’s peanut butter cup. A soft peanut butter mixture is rolled into balls then covered in melted chocolate.
- This peanut butter ball recipe only takes a few ingredients and no special equipment!
- The candies are soft and tender in the middle with a crunch of chocolate coating.
Everyone raves over this recipe for peanut butter balls when I bring them to a party or potluck! They keep well for a couple of weeks so Buckeyes make great gifts too.
You don’t need any excuse to whip up a batch of these chocolate covered peanut butter balls. Buckeyes are ALWAYS a good idea.
If you love today’s candy, be sure to try my chocolate peanut butter pie recipe next! So easy, and no bake too. Add a delicious buckeye to my easy buckeye brownie cookies!
Ingredients for Buckeyes
- Creamy peanut butter. You need regular shelf stable peanut butter for this Buckeye recipe. Do not use natural style peanut butters.
- Powdered sugar. the superfine texture of powdered sugar keeps these buckeyes soft and not grainy. Sometimes people call it confectioners sugar.
- Melted Butter. I use unsalted in my recipes, unless specified differently (like in our rice krispie treats).
- Vanilla Extract– choose pure vanilla extract or use my homemade vanilla extract in baking.
- Chocolate melting wafers. These are the trick to candies with a perfectly smooth chocolate coating. I use the Ghirardelli brand. You can also use melting wafers called “chocolate bark” or “candyquik”!
Aimee’s Secret
What you don’t see in my recipe? Graham cracker crumbs. I’m not sure why some recipes use them, but for the most authentic buckeye, you’ll love my simple version.
How to Make Peanut Butter Balls
- Make peanut butter filling: Blend together the peanut butter ball ingredients to combine.
- Roll into balls. Roll the filling into evenly sized balls with your hands. Place on a baking sheet. Chill for about 1 hour in the refrigerator.
- Dip in chocolate coating: Melt the chocolate wafers according to package directions. Use a toothpick to dip the buckeye balls into melted chocolate.
- Allow to set. Leave the top of the peanut butter ball exposed for a classic Buckeye appearance! Pinch the toothpick marks on the peanut butter balls closed and smooth with your finger.
Tips and Tricks
- Line the pan with parchment paper. This keeps the peanut butter balls from sticking and helps catch the mess of dripping chocolate.
- Let an excess chocolate drip off the peanut butter balls over the bowl before placing them on the cookie sheet to set.
- No need to refrigerate the Buckeyes after dipping them in chocolate. The chocolate will harden quickly at room temperature.
- If you prefer the look of Buckeyes with the toothpick hole in the center, you can skip the step of pinching the holes closed.
- For an even easier dessert, make buckeye bars instead! No rolling and dipping.
Recipe FAQs
Once the chocolate has hardened, place the peanut butter balls in a Ziploc freezer bag or airtight container. Make sure they are in a single layer. Freeze for up to 3 months.
Store these in an airtight container at room temperature. They’ll keep well for about 1 week. While they don’t need chilling, they do taste good cold as well! So feel free to pop them in the fridge if you prefer.
You can use either one! Milk Chocolate is more common but dark chocolate tastes great with the peanut butter center too.
I don’t recommend using melted chocolate chips for the coating. They aren’t designed for melting so they create a harder coating when the chocolate sets.
Easy Homemade Candy Recipes
Pin this now to find it later
Pin It
Peanut Butter Buckeyes Recipe
Ingredients
- ¾ cup unsalted butter melted
- 3 ½ cup powdered sugar
- 1 ½ cup creamy peanut butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 12 ounce chocolate candy coating Ghirardelli melting wafers, chocolate
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, blend melted butter, powdered sugar, peanut butter and vanilla extract until fully combined.
- Scoop balls and roll them into your hands, making about a 1-1/2 inch sized ball. Place on a parchment paper lined baking sheet and repeat until all filling is used.
- Refrigerate for about one hour.
- Melt chocolate according to package directions. Using a toothpick, dip bottoms into melted chocolate (leaving some of the peanut butter tops exposed). Place on parchment paper and allow to set.
- If desired, when chocolate has set, pinch the toothpick marks closed and pat until smooth. Store in an airtight container for up to two weeks. ENJOY.
Notes
- Line the pan with parchment paper. This keeps the peanut butter balls from sticking and helps catch the mess of dripping chocolate.
- Let an excess chocolate drip off the peanut butter balls over the bowl before placing them on the cookie sheet to set.
- No need to refrigerate the Buckeyes after dipping them in chocolate. The chocolate will harden quickly at room temperature.
- If you prefer the look of Buckeyes with the toothpick hole in the center, you can skip the step of pinching the holes closed. It’s up to you!
- Make buckeye bars instead! No rolling and dipping.
Video
Nutrition
Peanut Butter Balls (Ohio Buckeyes) are a holiday treat that is easy to make. Even the kids can help you create this classic no bake dessert that even the kids can help you create!
I loooove me some buckeyes!
I always patch up the toothpick holes too, but they don’t offend me.
What DOES offend me is the number of people who say they cover the whole thing in chocolate… that’s blasphemous! The ‘spot’ is the part that makes it a buckeye. Anything else is… tragic. 😛
It also surprised me that other people don’t know about them. As a native Ohioan, I’d never realized it was a local thing. I guess I assumed that we (as Buckeyes) were way more ‘into’ this particular dessert, but I never realized that they weren’t a common find elsewhere. Interesting!
I just made these tonight and they are awesome! Do you store them in the fridge?
I am familiar with the buckeyes 🙂 these look perfect and I am dying to have some now!
I didn’t realize how simple this is to make! Only 5 ingredients? I’m in! I can’t wait to make this for my brother-in-law who’s from Ohio. Have you heard of Longhorns? Now you’ve inspired me to share my recipe for the famous treat here in Austin, TX 😉
I have never had these or seen these at a party, but i do love resses so I think these might be right up my alley!
I’m from Ohio and I make buckeyes every year at Christmas time! I never knew it was an Ohio thing…I thought everyone made them…
And the holes seriously offend me too…they just look undone so I always patch it up. My recipe originally called for paraffin wax, too, but I leave it out because it’s not something I keep on hand.
Glad to know someone FROM Ohio is offended by the holes too, haha!!!!
I want to eat these! I’m in Michigan, so not far at all, but this year (in blogland) is the first that I’m hearing of these buckeyes. I think I might use those new Ghirardelli melting chips I saw at the grocery store the other day. Mmmm.
I love thos Ghirardelli melts too, they would be perfect for these buckeyes!!
I have made peanut butter balls for years, My husband brought the recipe hoe from someone he worked with. I was glad it would be something I would not eat because I have never liked Reeses cups. Welllll, much to my surprise I loved them. So much better than the Reeses cups. We cover the whole peanut butter ball with chocolate. My recipe has more peanut butter and sugar. Makes about 80-100 depending on the size. Also have to put in freezer to keep chilled before dipping.
They are soooo good!! Love that you dip them completely in chocolate!
One of my best friends in college was from OH, and she made an enormous batch of buckeyes every year. I think of her every time I see them, and I’ve craved them every Christmas since!
Well now you just have to make them yourself 🙂
Haha – Love these even without the “hole”, lol. These are a classic, I love how simple they are – they are definitely one of those recipes that I will be making forever!
Buckeyes – the best dessert known to man. I love how easy they are and that they taste like a reeses filling!
I must have been under the same rock. LOL Never had buckeyes, but this recipe looks so simple I think even I can do it. Although I’m not a huge sweet lover, I do like Reeses peanut butter cups and how can you not bake sweets at Christmas. So, I’m adding these to my list of other goodies to make this holiday.
Enjoy Sylvia!!!
With as much as I love peanut butter and chocolate, I am surprised I have never had buckeyes before. Will have to change that. This recipe is calling my name!!!
Welcome to life outside of the rock, LOL!!
One of the best things to come out of Ohio!! Love Buckeye’s, with toothpick holes or without!
This is one of my favorite holiday treats to make. We use a higher proportion of peanut butter to powdered sugar/butter so we can’t work with it at room temperature – we make the mixture, refrigerate it, and work in small batches to roll the balls. Then we freeze the balls and dip them while they’re frozen, again in small batches. We go so far as to twirl the dipped buckeye over the double boiler until the chocolate sets so that there aren’t any “feet” (we use a different chocolate mix – 1 bag of semisweet morsels with 1/3 bar of Gulf Wax is our ratio), PLUS pinch out the toothpick hole. These treats are WORK but they are by far the most popular 🙂
We’re Kentuckians and to my knowledge have never had family from Ohio so we must have had a nice Ohio friend a few generations back who showed us their buckeye recipe – my thanks to them, for it’s my favorite!!
These are always one of the first things we make on our families holiday baking day! Love anything peanut butter and chocolate!
I’ve never heard of Buckeyes (I’m from NC), but they look delicious. I think I’ll have to give them a try.
lol as a native Ohio-an, I have no clue if other people know them or not. I assume the toothpick holes are laziness lol
love em!
Whew, so glad to hear about the toothpick holes. I wasn’t sure if they were SUPPOSED to be there, LOL.
I absolutely adore buckeyes…I know that’s the “official” name but I always call them pb balls. And the holes offend me too…I always have to cover the truffles completely…and add sprinkles or chocolate drizzle. Now I’m seriously craving peanut butter!!!
Such a classic, never get sick of these babies! Pinned 🙂
Can’t go wrong with chocolate and peanut butter!