Buckeyes

A recipe from Smitten Kitchen and an Ohio specialty. Easy enough that even Noah can make it. And super delicious!

Makes between 50-70

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup (2 ounces) cream cheese, softened
• 1 1/2 cups peanut butter (smooth)
• 1 cup graham cracker crumbs (from about 14 graham crackers)
• Salt (optional, quarter to half teaspoon?)
• 3 cups confectioners’ (powdered) sugar
• 10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks or 5 ounces) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 12 ounces dark chocolate (60 to 72%), coarsely chopped

Instructions

Filling

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and peanut butter together until combined. Add the graham cracker crumbs and beat for 10 seconds. Add the sugar and butter (make sure butter is not overly warm), and mix on the lowest speed until it stops floating off everywhere, then increase the speed until the ingredients are combined. Scrape down the whole bowl well, then mix again. The mixture will be quite sturdy and a little dry — perfect for shaping. Set it aside while you prepare the coating.

Coating

Melt the chocolate either over a double boiler, stirring until it is completely smooth or in a microwave in 30 then 10 second increments, stirring before you start it again until it is completely smooth. Let it cool to tepid (about 100 degrees, though I’d go a little cooler next time for a thicker coating; I had a few ounces of chocolate leftover) while you shape the peanut butter centers.

Assembly

Line a sheet pan with parchment paper. Scoop out slightly more than one tablespoon’s worth of filling (their suggestion; I used a scoop that made them a little smaller) and use your hands to form it into a ball. Place the ball on the prepared sheet and repeat the process until all of the candies have been shaped. They can sit close to each other but make sure they are not touching.

Using a fork or large skewer, dip each ball into the chocolate and roll it about so that almost the entire candy is coating, leaving a small circle uncoated. Play around with a few practice pieces; I found it easiest to stick the skewer in the side, angle the bowl I was using towards it and make sure it became submerged as I rolled the candy around. But don’t fuss too much; even the “ugly” ones won’t go to waste.

Note: this is a typically a two person job as the chocolate cools quickly. A second person either allows you to coat more before it needs to be reheated, or can facilitate the heating while you coat them.

Chill the buckeyes until they are set, about 30 minutes.