Making treats for my upcoming baby shower this Saturday - I don't have to, but I love this sort of thing. My specialty?
Buckeye Balls. (No, seriously!) All my family back home miss me desperately, and some have confessed that my Buckeye Balls are the reason why.
Technically, mine aren't true Buckeyes, because I don't leave the little brown "eye" on top. I make mine to look like boxed candies. However, I've never come up with another name for them, and the recipe is essentially for Buckeye Balls either way, and everyone in
THE WHOLE WORLD except Opal calls them that anyway.
1 1/2 cups peanut butter
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 tsp vanilla
~4 cups of icing sugar - I use a little bit less. If I went and used the entire 4 cups, I usually add a scant 1/4 cup water to the mix to make it easier to work with.
Prepare a baking sheet by lining it with waxed paper. Prepare a spot in your fridge for this baking sheet.
Mix your PB, butter, and vanilla together first, then mix in the icing sugar. You don't want this mix to be too dry or grainy, nor do you want it to be too sticky or wet. Too dry and they taste like icing sugar. Too wet and they'll never set up enough to look pretty. The right consistency is kind of like well kneaded modelling clay - it won't stick to your hands when you roll into balls, nor will they crumb apart.
Make tbsp size balls - mine usually make about 60. Stick a toothpick into each one, then toss them into the fridge for an hour or so to firm up.
Melt 6oz of chocolate chips (your choice - semisweet is the standard, but I'm fond of a high quality milk chocolate, like Guittard's or Ghirardelli) with 2 tbsp shortening. Use a double boiler or the slow microwave method (heat for a minute, stir, then in 30 second increments until the chocolate and shortening have melted and blended completely). Take your nice firm balls and dip them into the chocolate, turning them over the pot or bowl to let the excess drip off. Place back onto the waxed paper on the baking sheet. When you've finished dipping them all, return to the fridge to let them firm up again, usually about an hour is good. Take them out, gently twist the toothpicks to remove them, then take some reserved melted chocolate (or melt some more, maybe a different type: dark, or white, for example) and use a fork to gently drizzle over all those little toothpick holes. Firm them up again. Now you have little PB candies that look like they came right out of a box!