Buckeyes recipe inspired by: Cuyahoga Valley National Park, Ohio
Essentially a slightly fancier and more regional version of classic peanut butter cups, buckeyes are a type of candy that make for fun, little, sweet dessert bites.
This is a particularly popular candy in Ohio, nicknamed the “Buckeye State”, which is why this recipe was inspired by Cuyahoga Valley National Park, the state’s only national park.
The website of the Ohio tourist board even goes so far as to say that “there’s nothing more ‘Ohio’ than the buckeye.” Visitors can even explore the 37-stop Ohio Buckeye Candy Trail, offering endless opportunities to enjoy these iconic peanut butter and chocolate treats.
The buckeyes candy balls got their name because they look quite similar to the nuts of the Ohio buckeye tree, which is the official state tree of Ohio.
They’re basically balls of peanut butter fudge that’s dipped in melted chocolate, leaving one small area of peanut butter visible. This buckeyes recipe, like so many others you can find on the internet, is ridiculously simple.
You need no more than seven common ingredients to make this fun, sweet and absurdly satisfying national park-inspired dessert candy.
Cuyahoga Valley Buckeyes
- Prep time: 15 minutes
- Freeze/cool time: 35 minutes
- Total time: 50 minutes
- Servings: 20
- Calories per serving (one buckeye): 129
Whether you’re looking for a quick solution to that mid-afternoon sugar craving, or feeling like a little bite of sweetness after dinner, this Cuyahoga Valley National Park-inspired recipe for buckeyes will deliver exactly that.
This is definitely one of the easiest national park-inspired recipes you’ll find on this website.
Not all delicious things should require long lists of ingredients, hours of work in the kitchen and tons of patience, do they?
So, if you’re trying to find an easy, simple and quick national park dessert, you’ve found it in this Ohio buckeyes recipe!
This Cuyahoga Valley National Park-inspired recipe for buckeyes contains affiliate links. You can read more about our Terms of Use / Disclosure here.
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Cuyahoga Valley Buckeyes Recipe
Inspired by Cuyahoga Valley National Park, Ohio, this buckeyes recipe makes a bunch of fun, little, sweet dessert balls of peanut butter and chocolate, one of the most iconic foods from Ohio.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 6 oz dark chocolate chips
Instructions
- In a large bowl, mix peanut butter, butter, brown sugar, vanilla extract and salt. You can use a fork or hand mixer to combine it. Make sure everything is well incorporated, about 5 minutes.
- Add the powdered sugar and continue mixing until combined.
- Use your hands to roll little tablespoon-sized balls of the peanut butter mixture. Place the balls on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet.
- Freeze peanut butter balls for about 20 minutes.
- Melt chocolate chips (in a double boiler or in the microwave with a little bit of milk). Pour into a deep dish or cup.
- Remove peanut butter balls from the freezer. Insert a toothpick in each peanut butter ball and dip it into the melted chocolate. Make sure to leave the top around the toothpick chocolate-free to resemble a buckeye tree nut.
- Place back onto the baking sheet and smooth out the toothpick hole with your finger or the back of a spoon.
- Cool in the fridge until chocolate is hardened, about 15 minutes.
- Enjoy!
Nutrition Information
Yield
20Serving Size
1Amount Per Serving Calories 129Total Fat 8gSaturated Fat 4gCholesterol 7mgSodium 86mgCarbohydrates 13gFiber 1gSugar 10gProtein 2g
A general nutrition calculator was used to determine the nutritional information of this recipe, which is meant solely as an indication of the dish's nutritional values. Depending on specific ingredients, quantities used and/or serving size, the ultimate dish you end up making may have different nutritional aspects. Please consider the information provided here only as guidance and not as an absolute fact.
