Buckeyes Recipe - Lauren's Latest (2024)

FAQs

Why are my buckeyes so sticky? ›

Why are my Peanut Butter Balls so sticky? First, make sure you're using regular peanut butter (rather than the natural peanut butter that's more runny). If it's too sticky still, you can simply add a little more powdered sugar until it's a nice consistency for rolling into small balls.

Storage Tips

Make sure your buckeyes stay fresh for as long as possible! The buckeyes should be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator to keep them nice and fresh. Stored in this way, they will keep for about 1 month (although good luck keeping them that long without eating them all, ha!).

Here's what's in buckeye balls: The peanut butter balls are made with confectioners' sugar, creamy peanut butter, unsalted butter, and vanilla extract. The coating comes together quickly with just semi-sweet chocolate chips and shortening.

The buckeye candy originated in Ohio (a.k.a. the Buckeye State). According to legend, sometime in the 1960s, Ohio resident Gail Tabor invented buckeyes while trying to dip peanut butter balls in chocolate.

1. To avoid a dry, crumby dough . . . Mix together the peanut butter and butter first, and then stir in the powdered sugar one cup at a time, until you reach the right consistency. Usually about 3 cups of powdered sugar will do for approximately 1 1/2-2 cups of peanut butter.

Removing the shell and roasting the nut neutralizes its harmful tannic acid content and makes for a protein-packed snack. If not prepared properly though, buckeye nuts are toxic to humans, causing symptoms including weakness, diarrhea, vomiting, paralysis, and death.

Just as the trees finish flowering (sometimes before, especially in dry areas or dry seasons), the foliage will begin to show “autumnal” tints of soft yellow and tan, and the leaves begin to fall or wither.

During September, buckeyes, which are large, shiny brown seeds, can be found underneath Aesculus trees. According to legend, carrying a pocketful of buckeyes brings good luck. Early Native Americans called these seeds buckeyes for their resemblance to the eyes of male deer, known as bucks.

Not chilling the peanut butter balls long enough.

Not giving the peanut butter ample time to chill and firm up in the fridge is one of the top reasons buckeyes get a bad reputation for being so messy to make.

Poisonous Plant: All parts of the plant (leaves, bark, fruit) are highly toxic if ingested – because of the glycoside aesculin, the saponin aescin, and possibly alkaloids. Symptoms are muscle weakness and paralysis, dilated pupils, vomiting, diarrhea, depression, paralysis, and stupor.

Can you eat buckeyes from a buckeye tree? ›

The buckeye nut can only be eaten if it is removed from the shell and roasted. The nut cannot be consumed raw, since it contains tannic acid and other chemicals that are mildly poisonous to humans and animals.

The seeds of yellow buckeye are poisonous to humans if eaten raw. Native Americans detoxified the seeds with a roasting procedure using hot rocks. Bookbinders have benefitted from the toxic properties of buckeye.

Aesculus glabra, commonly known as Ohio buckeye, Texas buckeye, fetid buckeye, and horse chestnut is a species of tree in the soapberry family (Sapindaceae) native to North America.

While gray squirrels and other animals do eat buckeyes, it is never a preferred food. In fact, both the seeds and tender young leaves of the plant are said to be poisonous to humans and livestock alike. Humans have long made use of the red buckeye. Native Americans were known to crush buckeye branches to catch fish.

In Britain, they are sometimes called conker trees because of their link with the game of conkers, played with the seeds, also called conkers.

If your butter was too soft or if the peanut butter you're using is too thin, the filling can get a little soft and sticky as you're rolling. The refrigerator can fix that—stop what you're doing and chill the bowl of filling for 15 minutes in the refrigerator before trying again to roll into balls.

SHORTENING added to the chocolate is the big secret ingredient for buckeyes. This helps stabilize the chocolate so that it dips nicely, and helps prevent the chocolate from weeping and sweating once it's hardened. Traditionally, people added paraffin wax to the chocolate to achieve this.

Dry your buckeye nuts in the sun for a few days. If you want to speed things up, you can dry them in an over at 200 degrees Fahrenheit (93.3 degrees Celsius) for two hours [source: Buckeyetree]. Mount a dried buckeye nut securely in your vice grips.