How to Make Buckeye Candy

Learn how to make buckeye candy! This traditional peanut butter and chocolate combo is out of this world good. Buckeye candy is a holiday staple!

I am pretty positive that the chocolate peanut butter combo is one of the best combo flavors of all time.  It is addictive, smooth, sweet and all the goodness that you want in a sweet treat. It is classic and timeless and you can never go wrong with it. Buckeye candy fits the bill perfectly!

Hence why Buckeyes are one of my all-time most favorite Christmas time candies. They bring such sweet memories every-time I roll all the many peanut butter balls by hand.

I go back to growing up helping my mom make all the Christmas candies, getting out the old metal double broiler, and pouring in chocolate chips and a block of wax to slowly melt. I go straight back to helping my college BFF Hannah roll peanut butter balls from her Aunt Peggy's Buckeye recipe in her home for hours on end. I think about Justin getting excited when I accidentally drop the entire peanut butter ball in the chocolate "messing it up" so he could then eat all the "not pretty enough to give away" ones.

I smile remembering when we made hundred of Buckeyes for our wedding, for the dessert bar full of some of our most favorite things.

I am thankful for sweet childhood friends who have come over to my now grown-up home to help me individually place all the finished Buckeyes in pretty little mini Christmas cupcake liners to package up as gifts.

Some of my fondest, sweetest and best memories of all time include the time-intensive progress of making Buckeyes.

Ingredients Needed

Buckeye's are fairly easy to make and you really can't mess them up. you just need a couple of baking staples to start.

• Butter
• Peanut Butter
• Salt
• Vanilla
• Powdered Sugar
• Candy Wax
• Chocolate

How To Make

You will want to prep the melted chocolate to coat first.

1. Place a medium-size pot of water on the stove over medium-low heat.
2. Place the chocolate chips and wax in a glass or heatproof bowl and place them on top of the pot, creating a double broiler.
3. Let the chocolate and wax slowly melt. Stir with a rubber spatula occasionally until everything is smooth and fully melted. This will take about 20 minutes.

Then, roll out the buckeye balls while the chocolate melts.

1. In a large bowl add softened butter, peanut butter, salt, and vanilla.
2. Using a hand or stand mixer, mix until smooth and no lumps.
3. Add in powdered sugar, ½ cup at a time, mixing until thoroughly combined and scraping down the sides of the bowl before each addition. The mixture will be crumbly after but if you squeeze it together it will stick and stay. If for some reason it is too crumbly, add 1 tablespoon of cream or milk.
4. Using your hands, scoop out peanut butter mixture into small bite-size rounds (about ½ tablespoon size) and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
5. Place in the freezer or fridge to harden while you prepare your chocolate.
6. Using a fork, place a peanut butter ball on top and carefully dip into melt chocolate, leaving the very top exposed.
7. Place back on parchment paper.
8. Once all have been dipped, leave to let chocolate hardened.
9. Enjoy!

PRO TIP: I like to roll each ball by hand. I find I can create the size and shape I want better than a scoop or spoon. I also find a cookie scoop tends to be too big as well.

Can I Use Natural Peanut Butter?

No. You need to stick with the "normal" full of oils and sugars kind of peanut butter.

Natural peanut butter will not work in this recipe.

Do Buckeyes Need to Be Refrigerated?

Technically no, but it helps. The cold will keep them hard.

If you want to do it like my mom always did it and now I do AND you live in a place that gets cold during the winter months. Keep them in a Christmas tin outside on the back porch or garage or anywhere outdoors that's covered and cold.

These are a labor of love. They take some time, but the end result is so worth it and best shared with others while creating. There is something about baking for the holidays that speaks to my soul.

Taking a day with my mom and family to make so many old fashions treats to gift to all the special people in our lives. Learning How to Make Buckeye Candy and other candy recipes that have been in our family for generations and listening to the stories of how it started each year.

The process of creating with my hands and the love has gone into giving someone a piece of your home and your heart as a gift. It is who I am to the core. It is what I love. It is why I am fully convinced why holiday candy baking is one of the finer things in my life and what I most look forward to each year.

These make the perfect gift for your loved ones for the holidays or to take over to your Christmas parties. I hope they bring you as many happy memories and delicious moments as they do me. Merry Christmas and happy candy making!

More Christmas Sweet Treats You Will Love

• Vanilla Bean Biscotti
• White Chocolate Peppermint & Pretzel Cookies
• The Munchies Cookie
• No Chill Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Soft Butter Cookies
• Rice Krispie Peanut Butter Balls {No Bake} 
• Peanut Butter & White Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies

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