The Best Ohio State Buckeyes

Buckeyes are THE classic dessert for an Ohio State game day. These chocolate-covered peanut butter balls are the only recipe you need this football season!

Football season is baaaack! 😀 If you're from Ohio then you already know what a Buckeye is, and if you aren't, then you're about to! A buckeye is a ball of peanut butter goodness that is dipped into scrumptious melted chocolate to resemble a real buckeye, which is the nut of our state tree.

I'm a born and raised Ohio girl but I could probably count on one hand the amount of real buckeyes I've seen in my lifetime. However, there aren't enough hands on the planet to hold the amount of buckeyes I've eaten. Now if you're going to eat a buckeye there are two important things you need to know:

1. Do NOT eat the garbage pre-made ones that are sold at the store. They taste like plastic and they're a disgrace to our state. You definitely should make them yourself! I've had a lot of buckeyes in my life in Ohio and this recipe is by far the BEST. Although I have to admit I am extremely biased because this is my mom's recipe 🙂
2. That being said, buckeyes are a huge pain in the Ann Arbor @$$ to make. But they're worth it. Seriously, put in the work and don't buy the garbage ones.

So let's make some buckeyes! And who better to learn from than a born and raised Ohio girl and OSU alumna who also happens to have a food blog?! (<--that's me!)

THE BEST OHIO STATE BUCKEYES

So before we start, I want you to know that this recipe makes about 1 trillion buckeyes, give or take. The picture at the end of this post is still missing about a dozen of them. So if you're not looking to make a trillion buckeyes you might want to cut back the recipe. Whenever I make these it's usually because we're having a party for an OSU game so I'm okay with making a trillion buckeyes (plus leftovers aren't so bad to have around 😛 ).

You're going to start by melting a box (yep, a whole box. All 4 sticks!) of butter in a very large bowl. Mix in 3 lbs of powdered sugar and 2 lb (one large jar) of peanut butter. The key here is to use an off-brand peanut butter. I'm a JIF girl for life, but not for buckeyes, the off-brand peanut butter tastes and works better for these!

Mixing this is going to get pretty tough so don't be afraid to toss out the mixing spoon and get your hands dirty! It's the easiest way to mix it!

You want to be able to roll the mix into balls at this point, so if you find it is too sticky, toss in some extra powdered sugar. This will be your center so taste the mix to see if you want to add in any extra peanut butter or sugar!Roll all of the mix into balls and toss into another large bowl. Refrigerate for a few hours until they are as firm as thy friendship (O-HI-O). 🙂

Once the balls are set up, you want to prepare your chocolate by using a double boiler. If you have one, great! If not, you can make one by taking a pot and filling it with water and placing a smaller pot inside of it. Pour one bag of chocolate chips into the smaller pot and boil the water. Make sure the water level isn't too high because you don't want to get ANY water into the chocolate pot! Stir the chocolate continuously until melted.

Prepare a few baking sheets lined with waxed paper to set the finished buckeyes on. Take a peanut butter ball and stab it about halfway with a toothpick. Dip it into the chocolate and swirl it around until it is covered like a buckeye. Place it on the waxed paper.

Continue until all of the peanut butter balls are covered and continue to stir the chocolate and add chips as needed.

Refrigerate until set (about an hour) then push down toothpick holes to cover. Enjoy! 🙂

Tips: 

• Make sure you don't make the peanut butter balls too big or they will fall off the toothpick when you try to coat them.
• Don't stick the toothpick too far in or the ball will split when you try to coat it.
• Coat the peanut butter balls in batches so the other ones stay cold in the refrigerator until you get to them
• Try not to use too much chocolate so you make sure you have enough
•  Keep a rescue spoon handy for when the buckeyes inevitably fall off the toothpick and turn into this mess
• Store refrigerated!
• Optional: You can add a chunk of paraffin wax to the chocolate to help keep the buckeyes from melting. If you're taking them to an outdoor party this would be recommended! You can find the wax in the canning aisle at the grocery store.

Looking for more recipes to satisfy your sweet tooth? Here are some more chocolate desserts!

"Hamburger" Cookies

Chocolate Chip Brownies

Peanut Butter Cup Cookies

Dark Chocolate Discs

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The BEST Ohio State Buckeyes

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• Author: Caitlin
• Prep Time: 30 mins
• Cook Time: 30 mins
• Total Time: 1 hour
• Yield: 1 trillion buckeyes 1x
• Category: Dessert
• Method: Double Boiled
• Cuisine: American

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Description

THE classic dessert for an Ohio State game day, these chocolate covered peanut butter balls are the only recipe you need this football season!

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Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 1 box of butter (4 sticks)
• 3 lbs powdered sugar
• 2 lbs peanut butter (1 large jar, use an off brand)
• 3 (12 oz) bags of semi-sweet chocolate chips
• Paraffin wax (optional, see notes)

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Instructions

1. Melt 4 sticks of butter in a very large bowl then mix in 3 lbs powdered sugar and 2 lbs peanut butter. (It's easiest to mix with your hands!)
2. Taste the mix to see if you want to add in any extra peanut butter or sugar. It should be easy to roll into balls at this point, so if it isn't, add in some extra powdered sugar until it is.
3. Roll into small balls and toss into another large bowl. Refrigerate for a few hours until they are as firm as thy friendship (O-HI-O). 🙂
4. Once the balls are set up, you want to prepare your chocolate by using a double boiler. If you have one, great! If not, you can make one by taking a pot and filling it with water and placing a smaller pot inside of it. Pour one 12 oz bag of chocolate chips into the smaller pot and boil the water. Make sure the water level isn't too high because you don't want to get ANY water into the chocolate pot! Stir the chocolate continuously until melted.
5. Prepare a few baking sheets lined with waxed paper to set the finished buckeyes on. Take a peanut butter ball and stab it about half way with a toothpick. Dip it into the chocolate and swirl it around until it is covered like a buckeye. Place it on the waxed paper. Continue until all of the peanut butter balls are covered and continue to stir the chocolate and add chips as needed.
6. Refrigerate until set (about an hour) then push down toothpick holes to cover.
7. Enjoy!

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Notes

Make sure you don't make the peanut butter balls too big or they will fall off the toothpick when you try to coat them.

Don't stick the toothpick too far in or the ball will split when you try to coat it.

Coat the peanut butter balls in batches so the other ones stay cold in the refrigerator until you get to them.

Try not to use too much chocolate so you have enough.

Keep a rescue spoon handy for when the buckeyes inevitably fall off the toothpick.

Store refrigerated!

Optional: You can add a chunk of paraffin wax to the chocolate to help keep the buckeyes from melting. If you're taking them to an outdoor party this would be recommended! You can find the wax in the canning aisle at the grocery store.

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**Recipe from Caitlin's mom 🙂

What do you think? Did this recipe make the cut for you or did it crumble? What would you do differently? Leave a comment below! 🙂