Halloween Buckeyes

Oct 26

Oct 26 Halloween Buckeyes

"Those little guys are delicious… they melt in your mouth!!"

"Omg just had my first bite of your masterpiece [...]!! delicious"

"OMG those are amazing! So cute."

Peanut butter-chocolate fans, unite! I delivered these adorable, no-bake, Halloween bonbons to my lovely neighbors yesterday and quickly got texted back those glowing reviews. If you're not familiar, Buckeyes are simply peanut butter confections (a mix of peanut butter, butter, and sugar) dipped in chocolate. They're lot like a peanut butter cup but with a higher peanut butter to chocolate ratio. In other words, to die for.

Homemade is pretty much always better.

If you purchase Buckeyes from a candy shop or supermarket, the peanut butter center can sometimes be dry or even gritty. No one wants that! With this recipe from America's Test Kitchen, the centers stay smooth and soft inside their crisp chocolate shells. Speaking of that chocolate shell...it's another reason I love this recipe. It calls for bittersweet chocolate rather than the more traditional milk chocolate which balances the sweetness of the peanut butter center perfectly. I used a mix of Guittard 60% and 70% cacao chocolate. Test Kitchen has an incredibly easy method for tempering chocolate that I've used for a number of desserts. There's no getting out the thermometer and painstakingly stirring over a bain marie. All you need is a microwave, a bowl, and a bunch of finely chopped chocolate. It's worked every time for me and yields a satisfying snap when you take a bite.

Since the ingredient list is minimal, make sure you use high quality chocolate and peanut butter with a flavor you really like.

Want to add eyeballs like I did? These are the ones I used.