If you’re looking for a healthy holiday treat, look elsewhere! Peanut butter balls (aka buckeyes) are easily my favorite Christmastime dessert. My Mom and I get together to make them around the holidays, and it’s a good thing we only make them once a year. If I had access to these goodies year-round I would be quite plump!
3 lbs. powdered sugar
1 lb. margarine or butter
4 cups peanut butter
3 packages chocolate chips
⅓ cake paraffin wax
Heat the chocolate chips and paraffin wax in a double boiler until they melt. Combine the powdered sugar, margarine, and peanut butter in a large bowl and mix them with your hands until everything is well blended. Chill for 1/2 hour. Roll the dough into balls and chill them. Then, dip the balls into the melted chocolate, and cool them on wax paper. Store the peanut butter balls in the refrigerator, and try not to eat them all in one sitting!
This recipe makes around 175–200 balls depending on how big you roll them (and how many you eat while making them).
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Mmm! Where’s the link that lets me download a few samples? ;>)
It is definitely more fun to make and eat them with a friend. Makes them extra delicious.
3 lbs. powdered sugar
1 lb. margarine
….
= 5 lbs of Christmas love handles
Holy. Crap.
I need to make these with Peabutter (nut-free alternative to Peanut butter, I’m allergic).
This is a family tradition in my home as well :). Every year my dad, my brother, and I would all roll the balls up and dip them together!
haters gonna hate. theyre called buckeyes not peanut butter balls (you leave a little uncovered circle on the top) ^_-
They ARE buckeyes…made ‘em for YEARS
Our family makes them exact same every year but we put a marachino cherry within the peanut butter ball!
Aprox. how many does this recipe make?
I’m not really sure Leah! I would guess about 150ish?
depends on how big of the olive like peanut butter balls you make.
I always had Rice Krispies to mine … a must!
Us too!!! They wouldn’t be the same without the Krispies!
We always had these with Rice Krispies too!
drool. These look gorg. Perfect gift for coworkers and/or boss. Thanks for sharing!
I was raised in Ohio, and these are a common dessert, only I grew up with them being called buckeyes, fits I guess
they look delish. Paraffin wax?
Yes, paraffin wax. http://homecooking.about.com/od/cookingfaqs/f/faqparaffin.htm
For many years, every Christmas I have made tons of these. My recipe is a little different, but my family can’t wait for these. My brother-in-law digs the container out of their gift bag every year and I think he has most of them eaten by the time they leave for home!! Nothing better than something homemade from your kitchen – with lots of love!!
Do you melt the butter first?
No, you want the margarine/butter to be cold or room temperature when you combine it with the peanut butter and powdered sugar. I think melted butter would make a big sticky (well… stickier) mess.
Definitely like mine with rice crispies and I always use butter!! Much better flavor.
Hi Amy, I’d love your recipe with rice krispies… Can you share?
Bonnie Morton
This has been a Christmas tradition at my Grandma’s house every year since I can remember! Put some Christmas music on and Grandma, Mom, my sister and I turn into peanut butter ball assembly line! Same receipe(except gma doesn’t measure anything) It’s hard to say how many it will make because they tend to disappear in the process! My mouth is watering thinking about them!
I just tried to make these cutting recipe in half. The balls looked like yours, used a melon baller, but not after I dipped them. How did you do it? I tried slotted spoon to drip, toothpick, tongs, fingers nothing made the excess drip off. They don’t look pretty at all. Should I have used more wax? I used half of 1/3 since I had cut the chocolate in half.
We just roll the balls around in the chocolate with a spoon and scoop them out with a plastic fork that has the center two prongs snapped off. It’s like a mini fork left, and it keeps the chocolate looking nice on the top while letting the excess drip off. I hope that helps!
Thank you for the tip. I will certainly try it next time. I rolled the others in colored sugars. Super yummy.
These look awesome! I think I may need to make them for our christmastime cookie extravaganza. :)
Going to try these for my son’s 1st bday party this coming Saturday!!! Thinking I better wait until Friday night at the soonest to make them…. or else there won’t be any left for the party!
I have made these at Thanksgiving/Christmas for at least 26 years and everyone raves over them. i use peanut butter, powdered sugar, butter and light corn syrup. But of all I have eaten, none compare in taste with the ones made with Karo light corn syrup. Please try it!! I also never use parrifin. I just melt semi sweet chocolate and milk chocolate chips in a double boiler. I put the dipped balls on a tray in the freezer as soon as I finish dipping them. The secret ingredient light corn syrup sets them apart from all others!
How much karo syrup?? And do you just melt equal parts of semi and milk chocolate chips?
I’ve always had trouble with buckeyes b/c the peanut butter starts melting on contact with chocolate coating. Does the paraffin stabilize this?
No, the paraffin won’t keep the peanut butter from melting when the chocolate hits it. If you refrigerate the bare buckeyes for a while before you dip them in chocolate the peanut butter won’t melt.
I also make these every year for Christmas and Easter. Instead of paraffin, I thin the chocolate with very small amounts of veg. oil, or another type of oil (not olive oil) – I also refrigerate the peanut butter balls before I dip them in the chocolate and then store them in the frig. My family members start looking for them as soon as they arrive.
we make them but not with butter just 1 c peanut butter, 1c honey and 2 c dry powder milk so very yummy
Can’t wait to make these later this month…however, if you want to call them buckeyes you have to make them look like a buckeye. Buckeyes have some of the PB exposed on top to resemble the nut. I’m from Ohio so we are very specific about this point! :)
Yeah, I like chocolate all over mine, so I don’t call them Buckeyes. :)
I have a question about the dipping. I’ve made these before and struggle with how to dip them. How do you do it?
Just roll the balls around in the chocolate with a spoon and scoop them out with a plastic fork that has the center two prongs snapped off. It’s like a mini fork left, and it keeps the chocolate looking nice on the top while letting the excess drip off.
How much paraffin wax should I use?
I have made these every year for Christmas. I have melted the butter and PB together with brown sugar before mixing it with the powdered sugar. I usally use butter not margarine does it matter what one you use? I am going to try your recipe this year and see how they compare.
I made these for the first time last year and my coworkers devoured them. I found a recipe that allowed me to melt the chocolate chips and paraffin in the microwave (the double boiler scared me – LOL) it still seemed to take forever to dip them though. I used a toothpick but the suggestion of the plastic fork with the 2 middle prongs broke off is a good one. I will definitely try that this year!! Thank you for the tip!!
I’m sure they were called something else long before buckeyes and something else long before that. Try making you’re own almond butter and cutting down the oil and it should make it easier to roll into balls/healthier and tastier depending on your preference. Walnut butter would probably be good too. =]
Has anyone tried dipping in the choc. bark that you melt and make candies with??
Yes, I did. I worked well for me. I like it better than using the wax.
I have to make about 800 every year for my husbands company….Delish!
Although the almond bark sounds easier, the parafin/chocolate chips melt has been around since I was a young girl (I’m 58)….I think it tastes better and has more shine. Just looks healthier – but how can parafin be healthy? No telling what we eat in purchased candy anyway. We made these and Martha Washington Balls or Coconut Balls. I’ve heard them called both. Your pictures make it look delish!!
I have a similar recipe which adds nuts and Rice Krispies. I quit using paraffin wax many years ago and substituted crisco shortening which works just fine. It was just too weird eating paraffin wax and my friends who asked for the recipe were a bit freaked out!
sharon, how much crisco do you add??? i also don’t like the thought of eating paraffin wax! but they look and sound SO delicious!!
These look so great and I want to make them to send to peanut butter loving relatives back east- any thoughts on how well these keep out of the fridge? Wondering about melting point for shipping…
Even better when I use butter instead of margarine!
Can you get these gluten free?
Please don’t mess these up with Rice Krispies!!! That is not the same thing. Call it something else, don’t bastardize this recipe by adding other ingredient. It is Perfecto as it is. Just pulish a new recipe if you want to change it – leave this one as it is!!!!
I completely agree Nancy! :)
I agree! I love the smooth, truffle like center.
Buck Eyes I make these every year for xmas I love them !!
How essential is the paraffin wax? 2 stores I went to were out of it, is it mainly to make the chocolate shiny or does it function for something else as well?
It’s not a big deal if you leave out the paraffin wax. Some other commenters suggested using Crisco instead. I might try it that way this year.
Yeah, I saw the crisco comment, I might try that since my stores are out of the wax. Thanks!
Would you use the same amount of crisco as you would the wax? O could you just leave it out completely? I have never used the wax and it is flammable it heated too quickly and I am not the best judge when it comes to heating things sometimes loll
1 tablespoon of shortening would do the trick.
Ok, thank you Bethany. I’m glad that you could decipher what I was typing, my spelling was atrocious in my above comment! :-) I have my peanut butter mixture sitting in my fridge now; it is already delicious!
If you use shortening (crisco), use about 1 Tblspn. Making these Thursday for our family Christmas party on Christmas Eve- Can’t wait! They are my favorite holiday dessert. Do you ever use crunchy peanut butter?
I’m trying to make these right now and although I chilled them first when I try to roll them they start to soften in my hands. They’re not staying firm at all making it very hard to handle.
I don’t have a melon ball scooper or I would use that.
Any suggestions?
Maybe try adding a bit more powdered sugar? How long did you chill them?
I first chilled the mix in the refigerator for half hour. After a few minutes of rolling it started to soften so I put it in the freezer for half hour. That helped, but after a few minutes out the mix started to soften in my hands again.
They might need to be chilled for a few hours to get solid enough. What if you just got out a section of the dough at a time to roll the balls, so most of it was still staying chilled?
After rolling the balls we always chill them again before dipping them in chocolate so they don’t melt.
I just made these for the first time tonight…and I want to have them for xmas. I am wondering if I can just refrigerate or if i can freeze them??? Thanks!
They’ll keep for weeks just in the fridge. Enjoy!
I am wondering if you have you tried Natural PB, as the consistency is a bit different, and it starts to separate, anyone?
I’m going to try it tomorrow! I’ll let you know how they turn out. :)
Ok, we used Skippy natural peanut butter and it worked just fine! :)
I have made these for years but we add graham cracker crumbs, chopped pecans and finely chopped coconut and its so much better that way. You don’t really taste the cocconut and all but it gives it texture. :)
I make these every Christmas and have never used wax. They work just fine with powder sugar, pb and butter. Born in Ohio, we have always called them buckeyes. My brother is in the Airforce and I always send them to him and his guys, they love it!
Im wanting to make these heavenly treats. Is it possible to divide the recipe in half and no make so many?? :)
Of course!