Buckeye Balls are an EASY dessert made from peanut butter balls dipped in chocolate for a no-bake candy with only 6 ingredients!
Chocolate Dipped Candies are a huge hit during the holidays and we especially love easy ones like Chocolate Covered Pretzels, Chocolate Covered Strawberries, and Chocolate Covered Oreos!
BUCKEYE BALLS RECIPE
Looking for easy Candy Recipes? These Buckeye Balls are almost like homemade Reese’s cups with almost none of the effort. With the toothpick trick you’ll love having your kids help you make these little peanut butter bites too.
You can even dip these peanut butter balls in festive sprinkles for all different special occasions. Different holidays, different colored sprinkles from Thanksgiving to Christmas, to Valentine’s Day, the 4th of July or even Easter. These Buckeye Balls make a great gift for friends, family, coworkers or neighbors. They’re even easy enough to add to your holiday baking schedule or make for a holiday dessert table for your big parties you’ve got coming up.
They’re no bake and only take six ingredients, so you can make these ahead of time and put them in the freezer until you need them. Just be sure to defrost them in the fridge, pat them dry with a paper towel before dipping them in melted chocolate. These easy candies are the peanut butter version of the ever popular Oreo Balls.
WHAT ARE BUCKEYE BALLS?
Buckeye Balls are balls made from creamy peanut butter, vanilla, butter, and powdered sugar rolled into a dough and dipped in melted chocolate. They’re creamy, nutty, chocolatey and basically one of the most perfect desserts you’ll ever try.
WHY ARE THEY CALLED BUCKEYE BALLS?
The name Buckeye Balls came about because Buckeyes are a nut on the Ohio state tree, which inspired this buckeye candy recipe. Now these candy buckeyes are popular across the United States, but especially in the midwest.
EASY CANDY/TRUFFLE RECIPES:
Oreo Balls (Oreo Truffles)
Chocolate Truffles
Cake Balls (Cake Truffles)
Edible Cookie Dough (Chocolate Chip)
PS, the pictured Buckeye Balls were dipped with toothpicks and smoothed over about half with a quick pinch and pat, so you can see the difference in the pictures to see which way you prefer. Either way they’re just as delicious!
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TIPS FOR MAKING BUCKEYE BALLS:
- We make this buckeye balls recipe with shortening to help thin the chocolate, but you can leave the vegetable shortening out if you don’t have any.
- Make sure you line your cookie sheet with parchment paper or the balls will stick to the sheet.
- Don’t skip refrigerating (or freezing) the peanut butter balls before you dip them in chocolate. This is the key to getting the balls to hold their shape while you’re dipping!
- Make sure the peanut butter you use has sugar in the ingredients. You need a shelf stable creamy peanut butter that has sweetness and holds up better than the natural version.
- When you’re rolling out the peanut butter balls, a trick you can use is to rub a small amount of butter between your hands.
- This will make sure the dough doesn’t stick to your hands while you’re forming the balls. Then use a toothpick to dip them into the chocolate, but not all the way, thats what gives them the “eye” look.
FLAVOR VARIATIONS:
- Sprinkle the buckeyes with sea salt, caramel sauce, crushed cookies, or drizzle with dark chocolate for decoration.
- Use salted butter if you want to try a sweet and salty flavor. You can add a drizzle of caramel sauce, too.
- Dip the peanut butter center in white chocolate almond bark instead of chocolate for a white chocolate Reese’s flavor.
MORE CANDY RECIPES:
Peppermint Bark
Classic Peanut Brittle
Pretzel Turtles
Homemade Turtle Candies
HOW TO STORE BUCKEYE BALLS:
- Serve: Don’t leave your Buckeye Balls at room temperature for longer than about 2 hours because the peanut butter and butter in them will soften and they’ll lose their firmness.
- Store: You can keep your Buckeye Balls in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 weeks.
- Freeze: As long as you keep your Buckeye Balls in an airtight container that keeps moisture out, it will stay good for up to 6 months in the freezer.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups peanut butter
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter , room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 cups powdered sugar , unsifted
- 6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1 tablespoon shortening
Instructions
- To a stand mixer add the peanut butter, butter, vanilla and powdered sugar and beat it until it forms a stiff dough then then roll the dough into balls made with 2 teaspoons of dough.
- Put the balls on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper then refrigerate for at least an hour before using a microwave safe bowl to melt the chocolate and shortening in 30 second increments until fully melted (mix in between each 30 seconds, for 60-90 seconds total).
- Dip the balls almost all the way leaving the eye of the peanut butter ball showing before scraping the fork across the lip of the bowl to remove excess chocolate and using a toothpick to push the buckeye ball onto the parchment paper to harden for at least 30-45 minutes in the refrigerator before eating.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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Photos used in a previous version of this post.
Am I correct to think the recipe can be doubled or tripled ?
Yes! Enjoy!
I’m from Ohio and use a similar recipe. Making 5 or 6 dozen Buckeyes at a time gets tedious making the balls. Now I take a large amount of the peanut dough and make a log the size you want for your Buckeyes. Take a knife make cuts on the log about 1 inch wide.
All you have to do is round out the edges and bingo, balls. I put them in the refrigerator or freezer until it’s time to dip in the chocolate. It makes the process so much easier. Give a try.
Sharon C,
Brilliant!
Turned out perfect. Directions were great and they look terrific. Everyone loved them. Not nearly as fussy as I expected.
Question about the shortening. I don’t use shortening. Do I have to use shortening to melt with the chocolate or is there another alternative? Thank you.
a tiny bit of coconut oil, you want something that is more solid at room temperature.
Can I use coconut oil instead of shortening? Same amount?
I don’t have shortening can I just use butter or margine
Should be fine!
Can’t wait to make these!! Question — does 24 servings mean it makes 24 buckeye balls, or does it make more than that?
Thanks so much for sharing this!
It means there are 24 count of balls. Hope you enjoy!
These look great !!!
I am going to make these for Christmas, and I think I will put a peanut butter m&m inside !!!
Thank you.
Yummy additions!
Why won’t my Toll House brand cho chip & candy bar melt?
Oh no! I used Ghirardelli semi-sweet chocolate chips to melt for this recipe. I’ve never had an issue with that brand. If you click on the ingredient in the recipe card, it’ll take you to a link to purchase if you need it. Hope this helps for next time.
These little nuggets are sooo good! My family loved them! They are so easy to make. Thanks for the share.
You’re welcome, Linda.
These are great! But the toothpick hole isn’t what gives it the “eye.” They look like buckeye nuts. You can smooth over the hole with your finger or the back of a spoon.
Hi Happy Holidays, this is my first time making these buckeye peanut butter balls, im not good at cooking or baking so i figured id try something simple & a treat i loved most growing up..im just wondering why you say add to a stand up mixer, is a stand up mixer better to make these? Can i use a hand held mixer? Also ive seen many recipes for these and most say salted butter, yours says unsalted, does that make a difference in the way they taste or come out differently?
I prefer a stand mixer because it allows me some freedom and not have to stand over the mixing at all time. A hand held mixer would work just fine for this recipe too. Personally, I like to use unsalted butter because I like to have control of how much salt is actually going into a recipe. Brands can differ on the saltiness making it hard to know exactly the amount. I really hope you decide to give these a try this holiday season. Enjoy!
Delicious. Everyone loves them.
I have been making these balls for over 40 years. Love them and give as a treat for the holidays. Easy to make.
Thank you Suzanne!
First time I tried these, my son brought from Ohio and were made by his girlfriend’s grandmother. I had no idea what they were but, found the name amusing. Oh WOW!!! when I tasted them, I was addicted, so I was looking for the recipe and how to make them. Be very careful, you can’t eat just one or two. Had no idea they were so easy to make. Delicious!!!
They definitely are hard to resist, haha! Glad you enjoy them so much, Ana.
The original Buckeye ball recipe calls for about 1/8 bar of parifin wax in with the melted chocolate. It makes the chocolate stay firm, shiny and less messy. I have never added shortening. You can’t taste the wax. This recipe goes back to the 50s in Ohio.
Interesting! I think most of our readers would not feel as comfortable baking with wax, so we use a more accessible ingredient, but I love that method too!
These are a favorite from my childhood and what a treat!
I do have a question…we always used creamy Jif peanut butter in the past, but the last few times the results aren’t the same. The balls never firm up in the fridge. It’s like Jif has changed their peanut butter and it’s just too creamy to give the same results. What brand of peanut butter do you use? Thank you and Merry Christmas!
I’m so glad you love these! We’re obsessed with PB&Co peanut butter in our house so that’s what we used. They have some pretty epic flavors too. Happy holidays!
The recipe calls for too much confection sugar and butter. It turned out to be too light and fluffy. Because I lost the recipe, Which I’ve made Buckeyes before, it didn’t turn out like it was supposed to.
I’m sorry it wasn’t to your taste, feel free to adjust to your liking if you try it again!
Mine turned out perfect using this recipe. So rich and creamy tasting. I wouldn’t change a thing!
Thanks for coming back to let me know, Tammy. I appreciate the 5 stars.
I loved this recipe!! So easy and turned out perfect. I played with some flavors and used maple instead of vanilla and white chocolate instead of milk chocolate. So many possibilities and it takes so little time!!! Thank you
I added more peanut butter to mine!!
This recipe looks great! I love how easy they are to make!
Thanks! They are super easy!
Oh my gosh, we have been making these for years. I mean years and they are so delish! My mom used to make them when we were children. I am so thrilled to see someone else carrying the torch and keeping the Holiday Tradition of Buckeyes going. Totally cool!!! I actually think when made right they taste one 1000 x better than a Reeses Cup!
Agreed – so much better than Reeses cups! Happy to see I’m not the only big fan of them!
My kids really loved this!! Such a nice treat!
So happy to hear that! My kids love them too!
What type of peanut butter do you use? Link isn’t working.
Thanks for catching that! We used Jif.
Buckeye balls are one of my favorite holiday desserts! Your recipe looks so easy and delicious.
It is super easy and I hope it’s spot on to what you are used to!
These buckeye balls will be the perfect addition to my Christmas food gift basket for my neighbors.
They are great for gifts!
my husband loves these plus he is a buckeye which makes it even better
That’s awesome! So glad he likes it and gets to relive his college days with candy 🙂 🙂
I am totally drooling over this goodness! Need to make these immediately!
Enjoy!!
Peanut butter and chocolate are so great together! These balls look like heaven!
They are a match made in heaven!
These are one of my holiday favorites! So easy to make, too!
Definitely a great classic!
Such a simple recipe! My kids will love these!
I’ve always loved these buckeye balls! I’m making them for a holiday cookie exchange!
Such a great addition!
I’m a sucker for anything chocolate and peanut butter! Yum!!
Oh, yes!!