Hey Smidgers!
It is the Lovely Amy here. Mr. Smidge and I have been struggling with the holiday season and the horrible work schedule that was imposed upon us. This is all about to change this year!!! With lots of prayer and patience, I believe we will have some new and exciting things for you this year!!!
I am going to start us off with an old family recipe that my nephew asked me to make with his boys before the holiday. I just did not get time to do it before hand so when Mr. Smidge and I went to babysit the great nephews, we decided to make traditional Buckeyes with them.
This recipe has been in my family for years. I am sure you can find several variations on several different recipe sites. This is the recipe we have used since I was a little girl growing up in Ohio. Both my grandmothers made these. My mother then carried on the tradition when we moved south to Louisiana. Everyone I know asks for these every year. I quit making them several years ago after being diagnosed Diabetic.
This is one recipe that takes a lot of time and work, so if I don’t have help I won’t make them. My curved back does not allow me to stand or sit long enough to make them. Sometimes I just do it anyway purely out of love and the happiness that it brings to those I give them to during the holidays warms my heart.
My Great Nephew tasting his first Buckeye!! Pure Love there.
So to make these you first mix your butter and peanut butter together. I like to use the cheapest peanut butter you can find. One year we made them with commodity peanut butter that was given to us to make them. They were the best ones I think we ever made!
Adding Peanut Butter to the butter
Whipping Butter with the Peanut Butter
The boys were such good helpers with this part. Not so much when it came to the real work. Hehe.
After you mix that up add the powder sugar SLOWLY. This is a must unless you want to have the entire kitchen dressed up in snowy powdered sugar. This was not my kitchen so I did not want that to happen.
You will end up with it looking like this.
Buckeye base
After that we let it set a few minutes to make sure it was soft. If it gets too soft you can put it in the fridge for a bit to harden the butter up so it rolls better. While you are waiting on that you can start melting the chocolate. I like to use the Ghirardelli dark chocolate. It makes that cheap commodity peanut butter seem extremely decadent. We had a joke going around with my Buckeyes calling them “Rags to Riches Buckeyes.”
You will want to melt the chocolate slowly in a double boiler. I used an induction cooktop so I could do this at the table where we were rolling the dough into balls. I did not have a double boiler so I used the metal mixing bowl from the mixer and a metal bowl for the chocolate. Place a small amount of wax or Crisco in the chocolate to give it the right consistency to dip in.
my make shift double broiler
While the chocolate is melting roll the dough into bite size balls and place a toothpick in them for dipping.
Rolled Peanut butter balls awaiting some chocolate
Mr. Smidge rolled them perfectly!
Once your chocolate is melted you are ready to start dipping.
Perfect melted Giradelle Chocolate
Of course, we do not cover the hole ball because we want them to look like Buckeyes which are poisonous but your can cover yours all the way if you like
Once they are dipped they will take some time to set up. I like mine cold so I usually put them in the refrigerator for a bit.
Completed Buckeyes … you can not eat just one.
Well, I hope that this becomes a favorite for your family too at the holiday season. That is all I have for your today!! Catch you next time!
as Mr. Smidge says food is love people…
- 3 lbs. powdered sugar
- 1 lb soften butter
- 1 qt. peanut butter
- 12 - 16 oz. dark chocolate chips
- 1 tsp. Crisco or canning wax
- Whip softened butter.
- Mix in peanut butter.
- Add powdered sugar a little at a time. Be careful, this can really make a mess.
- Chill for about an hour.
- Roll into 1 to 1½ inch balls.
- While you are rolling out the dough, melt the chocolate using a double boiler, adding either Crisco or wax.
- Dip balls in chocolate, leaving a little peanut dough visible.
- Allow to dry on wax paper sheets until the chocolate has set.
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