What is Buckeye Candy
For all those peanut butter and chocolate lovers, Buckeye Candy is a treat! Buckeye Candy is basically a peanut butter ball that leaves the top circle of the peanut butter fudge visible instead of completely coating it with chocolate. With a bullseye of peanut butter visible at the top, the confection resembles the seed of the Ohio Buckeye Tree. Buckeye fudge is a little different from the traditional candy in that it is made of sweetened peanut butter and chocolate fudge, and the buckeyes only become visible once you’ve cut into it.
Easy Way to Make Fudge
My first tip to you is to line your cake pan with parchment paper so that the fudge is easy to remove. The next step is to make the peanut butter balls. It’s quick and easy – just whip the peanut butter with confectioner’s sugar and butter and then shape it into balls. Once the peanut butter balls are in the pan, keep them cold in the refrigerator until you’re ready to coat them with the chocolate fudge. Now, there is a challenging way to make fudge and an easy way to make fudge. We’re going the easy route and using marshmallow crème and evaporated milk to make the chocolate fudge. It takes just about ten minutes start to finish and there’s no candy thermometer required! Pour the fudge over the peanut butter balls and smooth it out with an offset spatula.
Chilling and Setting Time
The hardest part of making this Buckeye Fudge is waiting for it to set up before digging in. But you must wait. It will take a couple of hours for the fudge to set in the refrigerator. Be patient.
How to Cut Buckeye Fudge
You will need a good thin knife when it’s time to cut the fudge into squares. Have a warm wet towel on hand as well to wipe the knife in between slices. It’s important that the knife be clean with each cut so that you don’t drag chocolate through the peanut butter circles.
How to Store Fudge
Fudge is easy to store, but not easy to keep around. But assuming you can keep from eating it all, store fudge in an airtight container for up to two weeks. You can also freeze fudge, however, so feel free to make big batches of fudge and freeze it (again, in an airtight container or freezer bag with the air removed) for a rainy day. Or, get a head start on your holiday gift giving and make your homemade fudge early and add a few pieces to cookie boxes for friends and family.
The Perfect Holiday Gift
Fudge of all kinds makes a perfect gift. It’s really nice to come across a square of fudge in a box of cookies. Or, if you’re feeling ambitious, you could make several different flavors of fudge to create really spectacular boxes of just fudge. I have recipes for basic chocolate fudge, dark chocolate orange fudge, peanut butter fudge, and white chocolate raspberry swirl fudge. Together, these would be an amazing homemade gift for anyone!
Please email a step by step to line fudge pan with parchment. How to make those cuts in parchment so fudge is prefectly poured.
Cut the parchment paper about 4 inches longer on each side of your pan. Then fold two creases in the paper to fit the bottom of the pan and another crease on each side to fold and hang over the sides of the pan.
Have not made this yet but excited to do so. But I am confused…as I was reading through, you mention milk in the cooking part and then you add more milk with the chocolate chips. I don’t see in the ingredients but 2/3 cup evaporated milk. Did I overlook something? Also I am assuming that you add the milk chocolate chips when you add the semi sweet ones. I so enjoy your recipes and your knifes are AWESOME!
Hi Mary. The instructions in step 4 were referring to both types of chocolate chip – milk and semi-sweet. I’ve changed the instructions to make it more clear to the reader.
ML
I could not form my peanut butter into balls. It was to soft and sticky. Not sure what I did wrong.
Hi Carol. Depending on how warm your kitchen is (or your hands, or the ingredients…) the peanut balls can be very soft. Just pop the mixture into the fridge or freezer for a little while and then roll them.
Doesn’t the marshmallow crepe go in the pan after the mixture has cooked, I have always added it just before the chocolate.
I always put the marshmallow creme into the pot with the sugar and evaporated milk, but if you’ve had success your way you could change it up.
I have a family of Buckeye candy fans. Wow, Meredith! This recipe gets tremendous raves from my family! Every recipe of yours is a family favorite. You are an exquisite chef and person. I truly enjoy your work and look forward to the weekly emails with your pups always included. Thank you!
My ohio buckeye recipe calls for flour to be combined with the butter and peanut butter and powdered sugar. I just mixed your’s up and it is so soft I don’t think it can be rolled into balls. (mushy)
Different types of peanut butters do have different consistencies, which could have made your peanut butter mixture softer. Make sure you divided the amount of butter and only add 1/4 cup to the peanut butter and sugar. If it is still not thick enough, add a little more powdered sugar. It is ok if the balls are soft, but you should be able to roll them. Since this is a no-bake recipe, raw flour is not a good option to use as it may contain harmful bacteria that only dies when cooked.
Meredith, I too, was not able to form the peanut butter mixture into balls. What a mess I made so I ended up spreading the peanut butter as a bottom layer and then topped it with the the chocolate layer. Tasted delicious but the bottom layer remained very soft. I softened the butter before using it, I wonder if that might have been the culprit??? Thank you for great recipes with directions and pictures of your kitchen companions. Best wishes for a happy and healthy New Year.
Sorry you had an issue with your fudge. Different peanut butters do have different consistencies. You can add additional powdered sugar to tighten it up. You could also chill it a little before forming the balls. If you softened the butter in a microwave, that may have made the consistency thinner. You want to use the butter at room temperature.
Do you think dark chocolate would be successful with this recipe?
I do! It already calls for 2 cups of semi-sweet. You could add another 1 cup of semi-sweet or bitter-sweet instead of the milk chocolate if you like. If you like dark chocolate more than milk, then you’ll definitely prefer dark chocolate in this recipe.
Have made the Basic Choc. Fudge it’s great and easy. Thanks for all the recipes.
How do you measure 1/2 cup of butter from a block of butter?
I am assuming your block of butter is 1 pound. A 1/2 cup or 1 stick of butter is equal to 1/4 pound of butter. So divide it in 4 equal parts, and one quarter of the block equals 1/2 cup.
Had the same problem with peanut butter balls, but I popped them in the freezer while making the chocolate mixture my main problem was after adding the chips my chocolate mixture was way too thick to pour. I glopped it on and smoothed the best I could. What did I do wrong?
If the peanut butter balls are too soft, you can add more powdered sugar to stiffen them up. All peanut butters have a different consistency, therefore extra sugar may be needed if the mixture is too soft. As far as the chocolate layer, the fudge will be thick, but you should still be able to pour or scoop it into the pan and easily spread it out with a spatula. Be sure to check the measurements and use a good quality chocolate that doesn’t have any additives, like lecithin, which can bind the cocoa solids and make the consistency thicker.
I have been making fudge with a recipe I adapted from The Boston Cooking School Cookbook for many years now. Recently I saw your recipe for basic chocolate fudge and gave it a try. It was delicious and as a matter of fact my wife requested I use your recipe for our Christmas gift giving.
When I saw this recipe for the buckeye fudge, I had to give it a try. I was concerned that the warm chocolate fudge would melt the peanut butter balls, but it did not. The combination of flavors and texture is excellent.
I have been using your cookbooks for some time now and I enjoy your recipes. Thanks for all your help in the kitchen
I just made these and they are delicious. However, I had the same problem as others with the buckeye being too soft. I added more sugar but still when I cut them, after cooling in the refrigerator, they didn’t look as neat as yours. I may try it again using a different, and more solid, buckeye recipe.