Marathon - Post #5

What is a buckeye? If you ask some people from the great state of Ohio, it is an Ohio State University fan. If you ask others from Ohio who did not attend OSU and don't actually give on hoot about OSU since they went to a different university (like me), a buckeye is a nut that is also our state symbol (or is the state symbol the buckeye tree?) Hmmm.


This is what a real buckeye nut looks like.







THIS, however, is the type of buckeye *I* am talking about when I utter the word buckeye:

Yes, my friends, this is a wicked-good confection. Some people make them to look more like the original nut above, but I make mine like these - all covered in chocolate. And this is what my tables contain when I make them, which today I realized I cannot do this weekend as planned. Why? WHY?! Because after I make them, I need to put them in the fridge, and right now my fridge is FULL of other stuff, so these will have to wait. At least until I clean out the fridge.

Now that I have taunted you with the photo of the delectible delights, I will share the recipe. Caution: This recipe (1) takes several hours to complete, and (2) makes about 15 dozen. And they are NOT low-cal.

Buckeyes
2.5 pounds peanut butter (conveniently sold in this size)
1 pound butter
3 pounds powdered sugar
3 Tbs vanilla extract (use the good stuff)
3 pkgs Milk Choc Chips (MILK, not Semi-Sweet)
3/4 bar paraffin (look in the canning section)
large bowl
wax paper
cookie sheet
lots of available table or counter space

Soften butter (I melt mine in the microwave), add peanut butter and mix until smooth and blended. Add vanilla and mix to blend. Add powdered sugar in small amounts until the pb mixture becomes crumbly (but not dry).

In a double-boiler, melt 2 bags of the choc chips with 1/2 bar of paraffin.
Place a piece of wax paper on a cookie sheet.

While the choc is melting, form the pb mixture into balls. I make mine about 1" or less. They do not need to be perfectly round. Stack them onto a plate as you form them. I do not get through all of the bowl before I give up and start the next step.

Once the chocolate & paraffin are melted, one at a time, take one of the pb balls and dip it into the chocolate, covering it totally. I use a teaspoon to help roll it around and also to retrieve it from the hot, melted chocolate. Take the chocolate-covered pb ball and place it onto the wax paper. Continue until you have filled the cookie sheet.

Slide the wax paper filled with buckeyes onto a table to cool. Put another sheet of wax paper on the cookie sheet. Repeat.

At some point you will run low on either pb balls or chocolate. This is when I add the third bag of chips and the last 1/4 bar of paraffin to melt, and I roll the rest of the pb mixture.

I let 3 or 4 sheets of these cool before I touch them. I put them into a large bowl and put them in the fridge. This makes room on the tables for more.

Can be stored in the fridge for over a month. Some years I start early and make them in batches over a 2-month period (as time allows), and I know my kids keep theirs around for months once they get them. It's kinda difficult for them to go bad. I prefer to eat them cold, as they get a little soft at room temperature.

This recipe makes about 15 dozen, which is not a lot if you are like me and fill plastic containers with the stuff and ship it off to people. I also decorate some type of small containers each year and give them to friends and co-workers. And, brace yourselves, most years I make 3 batches of the stuff. Yes, 3. Lucky for me I can live without chocolate, and I am not a big fan of pb+chocolate, and also, I get sick of them after the first batch, so eating them is not a danger for me.

So depending on how much I eat the rest of this weekend, I may find the space to refrigerate these so I can make them. We'll see.

I'll be back later to report on whatever my next adventure is. ;-)