I was recently asked how I got my Buckeyes to look so beautiful, so I thought I would write a post to share my secrets. Buckeyes are named after the nut they resemble from the Buckeye tree, which is the Ohio state tree. The nuts (actually seeds) are named because they resemble the ‘eye of a buck.’ These little chocolate-peanut butter confections do look like eyeballs because the top part of the peanut butter ball is bare. And that is the best part, because it makes them so easy to dip! Trust me, the hardest part of making these the other day was trying to take a picture of myself dunking them in chocolate. I used Buckeye Balls II recipe from allrecipes.com. It’s a great recipe with a light, creamy filling and easy-to-work-with chocolate mixture, but I doubled the chocolate mixture since I made more smaller balls and needed extra chocolate. So now that you have the ingredients and the basics, here are the tips for beautiful Buckeyes.
1. Cold Balls. Now, now, people, we’re talking about food here! It’s important for the peanut butter balls to be well chilled, so they stay on the toothpick. If the balls start to slip off the toothpick, just stick them back in the fridge for a while.
2. The Dipping Container. I like to pour the melted chocolate in a small juice cup. If you keep it in the pan, the chocolate can get shallow and you have to start rolling the balls around and it get messy. With the cup, it’s just one dunk and you’re done! I use a small 4 oz. plastic juice glass.
3. Tap Off Extra Chocolate. So that the chocolate doesn’t end up pooling around the bottom of the candy, be sure to tap off the extra chocolate. Just tap against the side of the cup until the chocolate stops dripping. Gently push the ball off the toothpick with the tip of your finger, only touching the exposed peanut butter top, onto to waxed paper. I don’t really like the toothpick hole, so I just smooth it over. Once you get the hang of it, it goes pretty fast. Before you know it, you’ll have a whole sheet full!
thanks.. I just made a batch and mine look kinda crazy… I knew there had to be an easier way… toothpick and cup for sure next time!
Hope it works better for you next time!
How do I help keep the chocolate from melting while traveling after they've been in the fridge?
I've found that once the chocolate is set, it usually doesn't melt being out of the fridge at room temp. It may be a little softer, but it shouldn't melt.