Morning everyone…hope you are doing great! I have been working on some new posts and new projects that I will be bringing you next week but I thought I would sweeten your upcoming weekend with a fabulous recipe from one of my most favorite baking cookbooks… Bake Explorations. You are going to love this one and the weather is still a little warm so this is a great one for you because NO OVEN required! I made a few tiny little changes as I went along that I wanted to share with you and they are at the bottom notes…take a peek before you begin. The recipe is easy (maybe a little time consuming) but worth it and oh so delicious. Your family is going to love you for making these for them, no one could say NO to these! ENJOY! I think a Baked Explorations Give Away will be in the near future…so stay tuned.
Buckeyes
Ingredients:
1/4 cup of cream cheese softened
1 1/2 cups of peanut butter
1 cup of fine graham cracker crumbs
3 cups of confectioners sugar (i used an extra 1/2 cup)
10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) of unsalted butter melted and cooled
12 ounces of good quality dark chocolate (i did a 50/50 blend with dark and milk)
and of course if you want to be totally kid friendly, I would recommend milk chocolate for the entire batch of chocolate.
if you want to substitute chunky peanut butter…it’s all good.
Make the Candy
In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese and peanut butter until combined. Add the graham cracker crumbs an beat on medium speed for 10 seconds. Add the confectioner’ sugar and butter. Beat at low speed for about 20 seconds to prevent the sugar from spilling over, then gradually increase the speed until the mixture is completely combined. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl and beat again. The mixture will feel slightly dry. Set the peanut butter aside while you melt the chocolate.
In the top of a double boiler set over hot water, melt the chocolate, stirring frequently until it is completely smooth. Put the chocolate into a small, deep bowl. Let it cool to tepid (about 100 degrees) while you shape the peanut butter centers.
Assemble the Buckeyes
Line a sheet pan with parchment paper. Scoop out slightly more than 1 tablespoon’s worth of filling and use your hands to form it into a ball. (You can use a medium-size melon baller or a very small ice cream scoop with a release mechanism.) Place the ball on the prepared sheet pan and repeat until the process is completely. The balls can sit fairly close to each other, just make sure they are not touching.
One by one, using a fork or large skewer, dip each ball into the chocolate. Roll the ball around from side to side to cover almost the entire peanut butter center, leaving a small part uncovered. Manipulate the buckeye so that the dripping chocolate covers the holes made by the fork. Let the excess chocolate drip back into the bowl and return each chocolate-covered buckeye to the pan. Refrigerate the entire sheet pan for about 30 minutes to set the chocolate. Keep them in the fridge, they will keep for several days.
Some notes from me: I used the salted butter and enjoyed it, I felt as though the salt enhanced the taste. I added a 1/2 cup of confectioners sugar. it just gave it a tad more body and easier for me to mold. I chose to mix my semi sweet chocolate with 1/2 semi sweet and 1/2 milk chocolate. I would highly recommend milk chocolate if you were making them for children. The inside mixture is perfect to use when making candy cups, the filling is almost identical to a Reeses Peanut butter cup…REALLY it is. You can make your own little changes, there are no right or wrongs but our friends at BAKED sure know their way around sweets…if you haven’t check out the Salty Caramel Brownies in an earlier post…please do…they are HEAVEN SENT! Check out Baked Explorations by Matt Lewis and Ranato Poliafito
Oh I LOVE these! We used to make something similar when I was little! Peanut butter balls dipped in chocolate and put in the fridge! They were simply irresistible!