These buckeyes have the perfect balance of salty and sweet! They’re made with soft and chewy peanut butter centers and are dipped in decadent milk chocolate.

How to Make These Buckeyes

To make sure this recipe turns out as amazing as possible, let’s walk through each step together!

I figured it might be helpful to know what tools I use too, so I’ve shared a list below.

Not all of these are mandatory, but they make the process a lot easier. If you don’t have all these things on hand, feel free to improvise and work with what you have.

• Electric Hand Mixer or Stand Mixer
• Large Sheet Tray
• Parchment Paper
• Toothpick or Metal Scribe
• Small Piping Bag
• Sprinkles

Step 1: Make the Peanut Butter Dough

The first step is to make the peanut butter dough following the recipe card at the bottom of this post.

I usually make it using an electric hand mixer, but you can also use a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. The dough should end up being quite thick!

Step 2: Roll Out and Chill the Dough

Scoop out 1 Tbsp-sized pieces and roll them into balls. If you want to be super precise, each ball should weigh about 24g on a scale.

Place the balls on a parchment-lined baking sheet and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes or until they’re firm to the touch.

Step 3: Coat the Peanut Butter Balls in Chocolate

Once the peanut butter balls are firm to the touch, make the chocolate coating.

Add the milk chocolate chips and shortening or coconut oil to a small bowl and melt in 20-second intervals in the microwave.

Stir between the intervals until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth.

Remove the peanut butter balls from the fridge and use a scribe or toothpick to dip each peanut butter ball in the chocolate mixture.

I like to gently swirl the peanut butter balls around in the mixture to cover them about 2/3 of the way up in chocolate.

Gently scrape the bottom of the balls on the edge of the bowl to remove any excess chocolate, then place them back on the baking sheet.

Lightly press a butter knife or offset spatula over the top of the balls to cover up the holes on top, then place them back in the fridge to chill and let the chocolate firm up.

Step 4: Add a Little Pizazz

If you want to add a little extra pizzaz, I love to place some dark chocolate chips in a small piping bag, melt the chocolate in the microwave, snip a small hole in the bottom of the bag, and drizzle the melted chocolate over the top of the buckeyes.

Then I add a garnish of some colorful sprinkles over the dark chocolate (in this case I used Christmas sprinkles because these were for a holiday party, but rainbow nonpareils would be so cute too!).

Step Substitutions and Swaps – Buckeyes

This recipe doesn’t use a ton of ingredients but I know you might not have them all on hand. Or if you have food allergies or restrictions, I’ve got you covered.

Below are some swaps and substitutions that can be made in this recipe.

• Creamy Peanut Butter – Creamy, no-stir peanut butter works best in this recipe. I usually use JIF or Skippy. Natural peanut butter or almond butter can be used too, but the batter ends up a lot stickier and is harder to roll out. You may need to add additional powdered sugar if you use these alternatives to get the consistency right.
• Unsalted Butter – If you only have salted butter on hand, you can use it in place of the unsalted butter. Just be sure to omit the salt that this recipe calls for.
• Vanilla Extract – Vanilla just helps enhance all the other flavors in the buckeyes! However, if you don’t have any vanilla on hand, feel free to omit it.
• Milk Chocolate Chips – I prefer using milk chocolate chips, but you can use any chocolate you like! Semi-sweet, dark, or even white chocolate would all be delicious. Just keep in mind that better quality chocolate melds down best! I prefer using Ghirardelli or Guittard.
• Shortening – Vegetable shortening or coconut oil both work great in this recipe! They help soften the chocolate to make it easier to bite into.

How Many Buckeyes Does this Recipe Make?

One batch of this recipe makes about 26 buckeyes if you use 1 Tbsp of dough per buckeye. I like to say it makes 2 dozen plus a couple for taste testing 🙂

You can make mini buckeyes that are smaller (1 tsp per ball) and will end up with about 80, or jumbo buckeyes (2 Tbsp per ball) and end up with 13 buckeyes.

Can I Make Buckeyes in Advance?

Short answer – yes! These buckeyes can be stored in the fridge for up to 2 weeks or the freezer for up to a month in an airtight container or ziplock bag.

Make sure the buckeyes are chilled and the chocolate has firmed up before stacking them on top of each other in an airtight container or ziplock bag.

I also recommend placing a piece of parchment paper between the layers to prevent any of the chocolate from smudging.

Tips for Making the Best Buckeyes

• Use creamy, no-stir peanut butter if possible to make the peanut butter centers nice and smooth.
• If you have a 1 Tbsp-sized cookie scoop, use it to easily make uniform-sized buckeyes. You can also use a scale to make sure they all end up the same weight.
• If you notice the peanut butter balls begin to soften as you’re trying to dip them, pop them back in the fridge or freezer for 5-10 minutes to let them firm up again. This will make them a lot easier to dip!
• Make sure you scrape off the bottom of the buckeyes on the edge of the bowl once they’re dipped to remove any excess chocolate. Otherwise, you’ll end up with big chocolate pools around your buckeyes.
• Garnish the buckeyes with a drizzle of dark chocolate and some fun sprinkles to give them a little extra pizazz.

Let Me Know What You Think!

If you make these buckeyes, I’d love to hear what you think of them! Let me know by leaving a rating and comment below.

And don’t forget to tag me @chelsweets and use #chelsweets if you share on social media so that I can see your amazing creations.

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