Buckeyes

I'm not from Ohio, but I do love peanut butter and chocolate together. I took them to work today and they were almost gone by the time I left for the evening. And Olivia nearly threw a tantrum when I told her she couldn't have a second one. I'd say they were a hit...


Buckeyes

9 oz (1 cup) peanut butter
4 oz (1 Tbsp) butter, unsalted, softened
1 tsp vanilla extract
12 oz (3 cups) confectioner's sugar, sifted (may need more)
1 lb (1 1/2 cups) dark chocolate, melted, tempered

Line 2 sheet pans with parchment paper. Cream together the peanut butter, butter and vanilla in a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment on medium speed. Add the confectioner's sugar slowly until the mixture forms a workable dough. Add up to 1/2 cup more sugar if necessary. Using a #100 scoop or teaspoon, scoop out balls of the mixture. Place on a prepared sheet pan. Using your hands, roll the portions into round balls 1 1/4" in diameter. Return to the sheet pan. Chill the formed buckeyes for 20 minutes or longer.

Impale each buckeye lightly with a toothpick to use as a handle for dipping in chocolate. Holding a buckeye by the toothpick, dip it in the tempered chocolate, leaving a 1/2" circle of the center uncoated on top. Place back on the sheet pan. Remove the toothpick and smooth the small hole that it left in the top of the candy. Allow the chocolate to set completely. Store at room temperature, tightly sealed.

I used milk chocolate instead of dark chocolate, because that's what I had on hand, and because I'm a sucker for really sweet chocolate with my peanut butter. The only thing I would do differently next time is to use more sugar - I only used the 3 cups because I was able to form the round balls with the consistency. But the centers ended up being pretty soft even after the chocolate was set. Also, I didn't temper the chocolate before dipping the centers. I've honestly never tempered chocolate - something I'll try sometime when I make fancier candy - but it was late by the time the centers were ready to dip and I didn't feel like messing with something new. :-)