Buckeye Candy...

On weekends when the Buckeyes are playing, I am sure that peanut butter and chocolate sales across Central Ohio must hit an all-time peak. These candies are truly wonderful, and there's not a football watching party in this part of the country that doesn't feature a plate full of them, either homemade or bought at the local candy shop.

Tomorrow I'm heading out to Seattle to visit my dear friend, Bobbi, so the kids and I decided to make a batch of Buckeyes to take to her and her family. These little candies are the simplest thing to make, but they are a little bit time-consuming.

We mixed up our batch and started rolling them out into balls. Dylan decided that his should be a log rather than a ball, and then told me that he wanted to call his "Tiger Bait." I made a blob and said it was "Dawg Chow."

Brooklyn didn't care what shape hers was in as long as she could eat it as soon as possible.

Our friends in Ohio already know that our true loyalty lies elsewhere, so y'all don't fuss at me again for talking about the Buckeyes on this blog! If you want to make your own Buckeyes (or more appropriately called Tiger Bait for the majority of y'all reading this), here's the recipe we use:

Buckeye Candy

3 cups creamy peanut butter
2 sticks butter, softened
2 teaspoons vanilla
about 4 1/2 cups powdered sugar (adjust to desired consistency)
2 (12 oz) packages semi-sweet chocolate chips
¼ bar of paraffin wax

Mix together peanut butter, butter, and powdered sugar. Mixing it by hand seems to work the best. Form into 3/4-inch balls. For better results, refrigerate for 30-45 minutes before dipping.


Over a double boiler, melt chocolate along with paraffin wax. Using a toothpick, dip peanut butter balls into the melted chocolate until almost covered, leaving some of the peanut mixture exposed on top. (Just drop the whole thing in if you're making Tiger Bait and don't even worry about a neatly shaped ball if you're making Dawg Chow!) Cool on waxed paper. Refrigerate.

Makes about 10 dozen.