Cook\'s Country - 2019-06-07

JUNE/JULY 2019 • COOK’S COUNTRY 15

NAMED FOR THE nut of Ohio’s
state tree, this sweetened peanut but-
ter ball dipped up to its shoulders in
melted chocolate is a fan favorite across
the state but particularly in Columbus
(see “One Sweet Century [and Count-
ing]”). I’m from Ohio and am a fan of
buckeyes, but I find that they are often
too sweet and are a mess to make. I
set out to remedy both of these issues
while sticking to the traditional roster
of ingredients: peanut butter, butter,
chocolate, and confectioners’ sugar.
I tackled the peanut butter filling
first. Because the combination of butter
and peanut butter is naturally sticky
and difficult to work with, most recipes
call for adding confectioners’ sugar to
thicken the mixture. This extra-fine
sugar incorporates easily into the sticky
filling and firms it up so that it’s easy to
roll into balls that hold their shape. But
to achieve a rollable mixture, the recipes
I tried called for a lot of sugar. After a
series of tests, I found a better way to
get the texture I wanted: using soft but
still slightly chilled butter. Any cooler
and the mixture was too solid to shape;
but any warmer, and it went goopy. I
had to work quickly.
Next, I started scaling back the sugar,
eventually arriving at an amount that
gave me the best balance of structure
and sweetness. Less sugar and a bit of
salt meant more peanut butter flavor. I
was satisfied and ready to start dipping.
Chocolate and peanut butter tango
together beautifully, but when their
textures are too similar they start to
lose their stride. I wanted a luscious
chocolate coating with a slight firm-
ness and snap that would be a welcome
contrast to the soft peanut butter filling.
This meant quickly tempering the
chocolate—heating and cooling it to
help create a snappy texture—which
the microwave makes easy. Gently
melting most of the chocolate in the
microwave and then stirring in a small
amount of solid chocolate at the end
meant that the chocolate would coat
the balls easily and set to just the right
snappy texture.
About that dipping: Chilling the balls
for 1 hour before dipping them in the
melted chocolate made it easier, and
chilling the buckeyes after they were
dipped ensured that the coating stayed
snappy. When my coworkers devoured
these sweet treats, I knew I’d done my
home state proud.

BUCKEYE CANDIES

Makes 32 candies

We developed this recipe with

Ghirardelli 60% Cacao Bittersweet

Chocolate Premium Baking Bars. You

can substitute bittersweet chocolate

chips for the bar chocolate, but be

sure to finely chop the chips. Do not

use natural peanut butter here. The

butter should be about 67 degrees and

give slightly when pressed; it should

not be so warm that it loses its shape.

The chocolate is divided here, so if you

don’t have a scale, note that each Ghi-

rardelli bar weighs 4 ounces. You will

need 32 toothpicks for this recipe.

1 cup creamy peanut butter

8 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into

8 pieces, softened but still cold

¼ teaspoon table salt

2½ cups (10 ounces) confectioners’ sugar

12 ounces bittersweet chocolate,

chopped fine, divided

1. Using stand mixer fitted with paddle,
   mix peanut butter, butter, and salt on
   medium speed until mixture is nearly
   combined with some visible pieces of
   butter remaining, about 30 seconds.
   Reduce speed to low and slowly add
   sugar. Mix until just combined, scrap-
   ing down bowl as needed. Refrigerate
   for 15 minutes.


2. Line 2 large plates with parchment
   paper. Divide dough into 32 pieces
   (about 1 tablespoon each). Using your
   hands, gently roll dough into balls and
   transfer to prepared plates. Insert
   1 toothpick three-quarters of the way
   into each ball. Freeze balls until firm,
   about 1 hour.
   3. Microwave 10 ounces chocolate
   in 4-cup liquid measuring cup at
   50 percent power, stirring with rubber
   spatula every 30 seconds, until nearly
   melted, 2 to 3 minutes (chocolate
   should still be slightly lumpy). Remove
   measuring cup from microwave and
   stir in remaining 2 ounces chocolate
   until melted and smooth.
   4. Tilt measuring cup slightly so choc-
   olate pools on 1 side. Working with
   1 plate of balls at a time (keeping sec-
   ond plate in freezer), grasp toothpicks
   and dip balls in chocolate until covered
   by two-thirds. Return balls to prepared
   plate. Refrigerate balls, uncovered,
   until chocolate is set and dough is no
   longer frozen, about 30 minutes.
   5. Remove toothpicks and serve.
   (Buckeyes can be refrigerated for up
   to 1 week.)

Buckeye Candies

Our target: a sweet, snappy, and satisfying take on this Ohio favorite.

by Alli Berkey

To achieve the signature look of these irresistible confections, we dip chilled peanut butter balls up to their shoulders in melted chocolate.