Buckeyes Recipe - Lauren's Latest (2024)

FAQs

Why are my buckeyes too soft? ›

You want it to be moist enough so that it will hold together when you roll it into a ball. If you're having the opposite problem and your mixture is too soft, simply add in more powdered sugar.

Storage Tips

Make sure your buckeyes stay fresh for as long as possible! The buckeyes should be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator to keep them nice and fresh. Stored in this way, they will keep for about 1 month (although good luck keeping them that long without eating them all, ha!).

How to Store Buckeyes. Buckeyes are fine to sit out at room temperature on holiday cookie plates for up to 24 hours, though if you're keeping them around for longer than that, store in an airtight container in the refrigerator where they'll stay fresh for up to 2 weeks. Buckeyes also freeze super well.

Buckeyes are peanut butter fudge balls dipped in chocolate. Unlike classic peanut butter balls, a circle of peanut butter is left visible. The finished product resembles the nut that grows on the Ohio buckeye tree.

To avoid a dry, crumby dough . . .

Mix together the peanut butter and butter first, and then stir in the powdered sugar one cup at a time, until you reach the right consistency. Usually about 3 cups of powdered sugar will do for approximately 1 1/2-2 cups of peanut butter.

The batter should not stick to your hands and you should have no problem rolling a ball with a smooth surface. Just remember…if the batter is crumbly, add more peanut butter. If it is too sticky, add powdered sugar.

SHORTENING added to the chocolate is the big secret ingredient for buckeyes. This helps stabilize the chocolate so that it dips nicely, and helps prevent the chocolate from weeping and sweating once it's hardened. Traditionally, people added paraffin wax to the chocolate to achieve this.

During September, buckeyes, which are large, shiny brown seeds, can be found underneath Aesculus trees. According to legend, carrying a pocketful of buckeyes brings good luck. Early Native Americans called these seeds buckeyes for their resemblance to the eyes of male deer, known as bucks.

Removing the shell and roasting the nut neutralizes its harmful tannic acid content and makes for a protein-packed snack. If not prepared properly though, buckeye nuts are toxic to humans, causing symptoms including weakness, diarrhea, vomiting, paralysis, and death.

The buckeye candy resembles the nut of the buckeye tree, with a shiny, dark brown exterior and light brown "eye." The story goes that buckeye's name came from Native Americans who thought the glossy, chestnut-brown seed resembled the eye of, you guessed it, a buck (that's a male deer, for you city folk).

How do you dry out buckeyes? ›

Dry your buckeye nuts in the sun for a few days.

It is said you can rub your favorite buckeye along the side of your nose to keep it oiled. While I haven't tried that, you can apply lacquer to a dried buckeye to keep the gloss look. Buckeye nuts come in a round or oblong spiny capsule and can commonly contain one, two, three, four or maybe even five buckeyes!

Poisonous Plant: All parts of the plant (leaves, bark, fruit) are highly toxic if ingested – because of the glycoside aesculin, the saponin aescin, and possibly alkaloids. Symptoms are muscle weakness and paralysis, dilated pupils, vomiting, diarrhea, depression, paralysis, and stupor.

Superstitious thinkers believe carrying a buckeye nut in your pocket will ward off bad luck. But, for the most part, the trees and their nuts are relatively impractical.

Sweet, salty, crumbly-yet-smooth peanut butter balls dipped in dark chocolate, buckeyes are the retro no-bake confections that taste like peanut butter cups and look like seminude chocolate truffles.

Confectioners' Sugar: Confectioners' sugar binds everything together and adds sweetness. Without this powdery sugar, the peanut butter filling will be too liquid.

Dry your buckeye nuts in the sun for a few days. If you want to speed things up, you can dry them in an over at 200 degrees Fahrenheit (93.3 degrees Celsius) for two hours [source: Buckeyetree].

SHORTENING added to the chocolate is the big secret ingredient for buckeyes. This helps stabilize the chocolate so that it dips nicely, and helps prevent the chocolate from weeping and sweating once it's hardened.

Stratify the seeds by placing them in the refrigerator at a temperature of 41 degrees Fahrenheit for 120 days. Plant buckeye seeds directly outdoors in fall or stratify seeds indoors and plant in spring. When planting, place seeds 1 to 2 inches deep.