The Original Buckeyes Recipe a.k.a. Organic Peanut Butter Balls – I can’t believe how many recipes are floating around for this simple little recipe. A few of them are even mine with my name cut off from the bottom of the picture! I’ve made these every Christmas 🎄 for over 35 years!

Perfect for gift-giving!

Three years ago, I lost the recipe and my aging mind couldn’t remember the peanut butter to powdered sugar ratio. I tried several different versions, but none were close to the original and I wasted a lot of ingredients. My recipe came from my Grandma Louise and she’s no longer with us. Mom had the recipe, but lost her recipe box in the move between two houses many years ago.

So Jimmie hopped on facebook and messaged his childhood friend whose mom always made mega big batches and always gave him a large tin of his favorite Christmas treat. As soon as I heard the ingredients, I knew it was the same as my grandma’s! The only difference was the way grandma worded the ingredient amounts. Now I’ll not forget it again. 😊

Grandma made her peanut butter balls look like buckeyes, but it’s so much easier just to dip the whole thing, and a dab more chocolate never hurt anyone.

Note: Pictures show a double batch. UPDATED: after experimenting over the last couple of years, we love milk chocolate better, but can’t find organic in an amount that doesn’t break the bank. I just found out paraffin is derived from petroleum. 🤢 We’ve switched to organic food-grade cocoa butter! 😋

3/15/2025: This recipe is updated to use the best organic ingredients I can find without spending a fortune. It’s a once a year treat so splurging is worth it. Most parchment and waxed papers are treated with PFOs or PFOAs or petroleum based paraffin wax. You can thinly butter a baking sheet to drop the coated peanut butter balls onto so they won’t stick.

The Original Buckeyes Recipe a.ka. Organic Peanut Butter Balls

• 2 sticks real grass-fed butter, softened to room temperature (Horizon is best)
• 1 regular jar (16.4 oz.) creamy peanut butter (Smucker’s organic is best)
• 2 lb. organic powdered sugar (1 box = 1 lb. or 1 bag = 2 lbs.) (Florida Crystals)
• 1 tsp. vanilla (McCormick’s imitation)
• 2 – 10 oz. Nestle Organic Allergen-Free Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips + 1/4 cup Yupik organic cocoa butter wafers

Line a cookie sheet with untreated parchment paper.

Using a hand mixer, cream together the butter and peanut butter. Add vanilla and mix.

Keep using the hand mixer as long as you can, but don’t burn up the motor. Incorporate all the powdered sugar into the peanut butter mixture. Continue with a strong wooden spoon or your clean hands until it’s all mixed. The dough will be very crumbly, but will come together into perfect balls as you grab about a teaspoon’s worth and roll into a ball between your palms.

Melt the cocoa butter in a double boiler on the stove top. Add the chocolate chips and stir until completely melted. Or add the cocoa butter and chocolate chips to a microwave glass bowl suitable for dipping. Microwave on high in 30 second increments, stirring between each until thin enough for dipping.

Drop one ball at a time in the melted chocolate, cover completely then scoop underneath the ball with a fork, allowing the excess chocolate to run off before transferring to the parchment paper. Let the chocolate dry and re-solidify before serving. If the chocolate becomes to thick, microwave for 10-15 seconds and stir.

Store in an airtight container. Keep chilled if you prefer.

To make the balls look like buckeyes

Insert a toothpick into the center of a ball and carefully dip 3/4 of the way into the chocolate, leaving a small round bare spot on the top. Sometimes the ball will want to fall off of the toothpick, or the ball with break apart. Chilling the balls in the fridge for a 1/2 hour or so may help.

Here’s a link to a great article on how Ohio became the Buckeye State!

Fabulous Chocolate Fudge

Happy eating! 😊