Realy really, good! But it took me a few tries to get the technique right. This might help: the chocolate has the be very hot and the balls must be very cold for the chocolate to stick right. I melted the chocolate in the microwave, so I popped it back in for about a minute every couple minutes; and DONT take the balls out of the freezer until RIGHT before you are about to dip them. They will start to sweat after being out for a few minutes and this will keep the chocolate from sticking.
I've made this recipe several times and everyone loves them! I use 4 cups confectioner's sugar and 2 cups peanut butter. A few other techniques that have helped: chill the peanut butter mixture in the fridge 30 minutes before making the balls - this will help make a smoother, rounder buckeye. Also, melt more chocolate than the recipe calls for so you have a good pool of chocolate to dip the ball into (you'll throw chocolate away, but it will make the product look better).
For those of you who do not wish to use the stove top, try using a crock pot. The chocolate melts easy and stays melted for as long as you need. Remember to set it on low. If you don't plan on using your crock pot soon, cover and reuse chocolate at another time.
Quick tip for easier dipping. The obvious one of melting the chocolate in the microwave. I've made these since high school and never thought of that! The next tip is to use an ice cream scoop to get a scoop of chocolate and then dip the balls in that. The ice cream scoop gets enough chocolate in it to make 3-4 small buckeyes and if it falls off the toothpick, it's not falling far! It also helps to get a full, nice covering of chocolate instead of having to roll around the ball to get the top partially covered. Then, you can use a shallower bowl instead of something too deep for the chocolate.
I've been eating my grandmother's wonderful Buckeyes all my life so I decided to give this recipe a try (since I didn't have her recipe handy). I would recommend this recipe with the following tweaks: definitely cut the sugar and sift it- I used about 4 cups which worked well; add a tablespoon or two of shortening to the chocolate to help it stay a little firmer at room temperature; use semi-sweet chocolate as specified(I used a blend of milk choc and semi-sweet and it was too sweet); and to save time just microwave the chocolate at a medium setting and stir periodically- it comes out perfectly creamy and there's no need for the messy double broiler. What a great holiday treat! Yummy!
This recipe is AWESOME!!! I did a little altering... For the peanut butter I used Smuckers Natural creamy peanut butter(it has no trans fat. I am pretty much a health freak.) Smart Balance buttery spread(this stuff rocks to cook/bake with!) and I didn't have any semi sweet chocolate so I used Bittersweet chocolate chips. Everything was Perfect!!! Also instead of melting the chocolate on the stove I put it in the microwave and stirred it every 40 seconds or so. Much quicker!!! You have to try the recipe this way. It is about as close to healthy buckeyes as you can get!!
I make buckeyes every holiday season for my students (I teach high school). This recipie is great. I only have one hint. Add some parafin wax to the melted chocolate. The wax will thin out the chocolate and make it easier to dip. Plus, you won't use so much chocolate...this is especially helpful if you are making a double or triple batch like I do every year
HELP!!! I can't figure out what I did to this recipe. My mixture is too fluffy and when i started rolling them into balls they stuck to my hands and now they look like little porcupines. I added the correct measurements but something happened. I wonder if using my kitchenaid mixer was too much.
Rolling the balls was very sticky so I put powdered sugar on a paper plate and dipped both palms in after rolling each ball and it worked wonders; balls came out smooth. I also decreased the sugar in the recipe to about 4 cups and sifted first.
