Rich and creamy peanut butter balls are dipped in chocolate and decorated with festive sprinkles for a no bake treat that’s perfect for a special occasion. These buckeye balls make a great gift and are always a welcome addition to any holiday dessert table along with classics such as rum balls, Christmas cookie bars, Christmas popcorn, Christmas puppy chow and Christmas crack.
Ingredients For Buckeye Balls
To make these buckeye balls you will need creamy peanut butter, butter, powdered sugar, chocolate, sprinkles and shortening. Make these buckeyes as part of a Christmas party spread along with holiday favorites like Grinch punch, peppermint bark, crock pot candy and Grinch cookies!
How Do You Make Buckeye Balls?
To make this buckeye ball recipe first place peanut butter, butter and powdered sugar (confectioners’ sugar) in a large bowl. Stir until a dough forms. You may need to use your hands to knead everything together. Roll the peanut butter mixture into balls, then chill the balls on a baking sheet. Melt the chocolate and shortening together in a bowl, then use a toothpick to dip each ball halfway in the chocolate. Roll the balls in sprinkles if desired. Use your finger to smooth the top of each buckeye ball to remove the hole from the toothpick. Chill the peanut butter balls until the chocolate sets, then serve and enjoy.
Tips For The Perfect Buckeye Balls
I typically use a measuring spoon or small cookie scoop to portion out my peanut butter “dough” so that all of the balls are the same size. The traditional way to do buckeye candies is to dip them in semisweet chocolate. I decided to mix things up a bit, and dipped half my balls in semisweet chocolate and the other half in white chocolate and holiday sprinkles. You can use whatever type of sprinkles you like. It’s fun to switch out the sprinkle colors to match whatever occasion you’re celebrating. Or you can leave off the sprinkles altogether, there are so many ways to decorate buckeye balls! You can use a stand mixer with a paddle attachment to mix the peanut butter dough together. Make sure to keep the mixer on a lower setting until the powered sugar incorporates into the dough so it doesn’t get thrown out of the mixer.
Flavor Variations
While these buckeye balls are delicious as-is, you can add other ingredients to customize the flavors to your tastes.
Chocolate: Milk chocolate is another great option aside from the dark and white chocolates listed in the recipe. Toppings: You can roll your balls in other toppings such as finely diced nuts or coconut. Add-ins: Feel free to add some texture to your peanut butter balls by mixing in 3/4 cup of rice krispy cereal. Another great option is to use crunchy peanut butter instead of smooth. Flavoring: You can change the flavor with a few drops of vanilla extract or almond extract.
Peanut butter balls are a classic treat that never goes out of style. I have been eating them as long as I can remember! There’s just something amazing about the peanut butter chocolate combo. I urge you to try these with the white chocolate too, you won’t regret it.
Buckeye Balls Video
