Grandma's Recipes: Buckeyes

As written:

Buckeyes
1 pkg. pow. sugar
1 stick oleo
1 1/2 c. peanut butter
2 tsp vanilla
roll in balls
1 lg pkg semi sweet chocolate chips
1/2 block paraffin
melt
_____________
2 2/3 cups powdered sugar is a lb.


These are little round confections about an inch in diameter. The center is peanut butter, sugar and oleo (margarine). From the note at the bottom, one would interpret the package of powdered sugar to be a 1 lb box. While I recall a bit of peanut in these, I doubt she used extra crunchy. They were too smooth to have a lot peanut chunks in them. Soften the margarine. Stir or mix all of the ingredients together. Roll into balls. Very straight forward.

The little balls of peanut filling are dipped in melted chocolate. Using paraffin, from the same box you used to make your ice cube candles, was pretty standard at the time. I imagine it was used to make the available chocolate in the form of chips set up better. I also imagine using it avoids most of the problems associated with not tempering chocolate properly. I think they sell some kind of paraffin-like crystal at most cake/candy shops to serve the same purpose. You may still see paraffin as an ingredient in some lower quality chocolate bars in the candy aisle.

The peanut balls are usually held with a toothpick and dipped into the chocolate leaving a small circle of the peanut showing, This gives these candies the distinctive look of a buckeye. A big hit with fans of the OSU buckeyes.

Update for O Wise Sister!

I don't think they had access to good chocolate and the only grocery store version would have been choc. chips. They remove most of the valuable cocoa butter butter from them and they are not designed for making candy. Someone figured out that adding some paraffin would help it set up and hold up. As far as I know, paraffin is not known to be harmful to humans - look at all those wax lips and wax bottles we chewed on!

The alternative would be to go to Michaels or Hobby Lobby and get some candy-making chocolate, melt it carefully and dip the peanut butter centers. It would be so much better. Of course, there is really good chocolate, too - a little harder to find and much harder to use as it must be temered (you remember that from class?)

Yes, I do remember that it needs to be tempered. I just never remember exactly how to do it properly.