Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Makin' Buckeyes - P Dub Style

This was originally posted Dec. 3, 2008. I made these again this morning. The only thing I did slightly different was to make them a little smaller and I only made 1 batch. It yielded not quite 8 dozen buckeyes.

Tomorrow is my monthly MOPS group meeting. I am enjoying having a reason to get out of the house to do something other than grocery shopping or running other errands. It even gives me an excuse to dress up a little and wear make-up (which I usually only do on Sundays or if Ande and I are going out somewhere). For this meeting, we're having a cookie exchange, where the participants each bring 3 dozen cookies to trade with each other. I didn't really feel like baking cookies, and I didn't want to go store-bought (not that there's anything wrong with store-bought cookies. Especially Pepperidge Farms.) I decided to, instead of making cookies, make Buckeyes. They're one of my favorite Christmas traditions. I remember watching my mom baking cookies and making such sweet delights as Divinity, Pecan Tarts, and of course Buckeyes. She only did this at Christmas, so it was a special treat. I thought I'd share the process with you, my faithful readers. I wanted to mix it up a bit, and thought I'd try to post the recipe A la Pioneer Woman. Now, I'm not nearly as entertaining to read as her, but I'll try my best. Enjoy!

When Pioneer Woman posts recipes, she also posts pictures and funny tips. Not that this recipe is all that complicated, but I thought I'd channel a little P Dub and do that myself. Please note, this Buckeye recipe is slightly different than Shelly's (which I'm sure is delicious, too. This is just the recipe I grew up with).

Mmmmm....Buckeyes. They're YUMMY. Not the Ohio State Buckeyes. Not the "hairless nuts with no commercial value" buckeyes. Peanut-buttery-chocolate-coveredy (yes, I did just make that word up, thanks for noticing) little round bits of heaven is what I'm talkin' about here!

Here's what you start with:

THE RECIPE

12 oz Creamy Peanut Butter


3/4 Cup Butter, softened (not melted)


1 tsp. Vanilla (I use Pure Vanilla Extract, because it tastes better)


1 LB Powdered (Confectioner's) Sugar


1 oz Paraffin Wax (Which is NOT located in the baking aisle. You can find it where you'd find the canning supplies) It sounds weird, but don't leave it out. Trust me.


12 oz Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips


(Please note, I made a double batch, which gave me about 8 dozen Buckeyes - this recipe should give you around 4 dozen or so)



STEP ONE:


Combine first four ingredients in a large bowl. Here's the peanut butter - I weighed it to make sure I had the right amount.


The butter (well, I used margarine, but butter would work too)


The vanilla (OH MY WORD do I ever LOVE the smell of vanilla extract!)

And the powdered sugar. I really could have used a larger bowl...

STEP TWO:


Knead the ingredients with your hands thoroughly. It's pretty sticky at first, but after a few minutes it will turn into a large ball of dough. I would have taken a picture of the kneading process, but I would have needed an extra hand to do so, since both of my hands were covered in peanut butter...which is not very good for holding and/or operating a camera.


STEP THREE:



Roll dough into small balls. I usually just grab a bit of dough and roll it between my hands until it forms a nice little ball. You could make them a little bigger or smaller if you wanted. Place the doughballs onto a cookie sheet lined with waxed paper.



STEP FOUR:



Refrigerate for one hour. If your fridge is like mine, you have no room to do that. I've got a side-by-side that doesn't really hold as much as I'd like. Of course, if I got rid of some of the science projects I'm certain are residing in the back of the fridge, I probably would have room. BUT, I live in Michigan where it's cold. So, if you live in a cold climate like me, you can use what I like to call the Redneck Refrigerator. My dough is currently resting (covered) on my porch, because it's currently 37 degrees F(feels like 29) outside. If you don't have cold enough weather to do that, then I guess you'd better get in the kitchen and clean out your refrigerator!
After your hour is up, take the paraffin wax and chocolate chips and heat over low heat until melted.



Make sure you stir the paraffin and chocolate chips while they are melting.
Once the chocolate is nice and smooth, you're ready to dip the dough balls. Using a toothpick inserted into the center, lower the dough ball down into the chocolate and cover all but the top.
Place the chocolate covered dough balls on waxed paper to cool.
Now, I don't like the toothpick holes in the tops of my buckeyes. So I set one doughball aside. Pinching tiny bits of dough off, I was able to "fill in" the holes. You can see at the top of the following picture how much better it looks with the holes filled in. However, you don't HAVE to do that if you don't want to.

Let the buckeyes cool completely, then store tightly covered in a cool place. (Mine will be returning to the Redneck Refrigerator!!)
So, I hope you've enjoyed the tutorial. If you make these, leave me a comment and let me know how they turned out!!

12 comments:

Julie said...

Hey, I make buckeyes too. Aren't they named after the Ohio state buckeye? Filling your holes is a good idea, usually get my finger wet and rub over it to hide it. I'll have to see if our recipes are the same...

mj said...

Nicely done! I have always wanted to imitate Pioneer Women's recipe postings but I just don't have the time to do all that. Another blogger is suppose to be hosting a cookie exchange sometime soon. I will let you know when so you can join in too with your Buckeye recipe.

amanda said...

that is my kind of "baking" I say that I love to bake... but when I evaluate my recipes, it boils down to buckeyes, fudge, peppermint bark and sometimes toffee---if you have a good toffee recipe PLEASE share...

my recipe doesn't include the vanilla, I might have to try that addition this year. And I LOVE the hole-filling idea... that little hole always bugs me.

thanks for posting, I was probably a little too excited to read it...

Devin said...

Oh man, those look sooooooo good!

Several things:

I laughed out loud at the "it gives me a reason to put on makeup" phrase--I so only put on makeup for Date Night or Church.

I really needed that picture of you kneading. HA!

Redneck Refridgerator....too hilarious! Enough said.

The 'eating' of Paraffin wax? I'm not going to lie, that scares me a bit. Is it non toxic?

Hypothetically, I could have probably eaten that entire pot of melted chocolate with just a spoon all by myself today....sans wax, of course.

And....

Your end result looks super fantastic. I'm sure they will be a huge hit! Thanks for the recipe, I think I just may try my hand at making these myself this year!

12-arrows said...

looks great Julie, now I wish I had made some treats for today, but with being sick I just didn't think it was wise to bring food that I coughed all over!!! LOL I am sure the girls will love taking home those, because my man-boys would be all over them when i walked in the door! See you in a bit!

Beck said...

Will you mail me some? You should take a picture of all the other cookies you brought home to! Sounds super yummy!
I must say I personally like you WAY more then Pioneer Woman cuz well you give my bloggy lots of love and she is WAY to popular to do such a thing. :) And she probably doesn't have 1/2 as cute kids as you do or give amazing Tuesday tips!
Since I don't have my own kitchen I will have to file this recipe in the back of my brain until next Chrsitmas and do it then. But this year I am going to my sister's and we're making all sorts of yummys! I'll make sure to take lots of pictures and show you what a mess we can make 1 kitchen look! :)

12-arrows said...

The buckeyes were FANTASTIC and were devoured within minutes of coming home! LOL I did, however, get to eat one! Thank you for that sweet gift!!!!

Anonymous said...

Okay, those look amazing. I could eat half that pan myself. Thanks for sharing (and making me hungry!).

Tracy P. said...

Wow, that worked out perfectly! Thanks so much for joining the festivities over at my place--hope you found a few good ones to try yourself!

Joy said...

I love these. When I was growing up this famiy in our church always made them and gave us some every Christmas. Yum!
I've never tried to make them myself.
May give them a try.

beadinbabe said...

OOooOo Julie, my Mom used to make those, and I LOVED them!! I am going to make some today too :) Thank you for the inspiration!

Unknown said...

I just love the recipe...thanks for such an lovely dish..
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