Buckeye Balls

These delicious bonbons were introduced to my by a friend back when we were pre-teens. So, it’s so easy a twelve-year-old can make them.

Ingredients:
1-1/2 cups creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup salted butter or margarine (room temperature)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 16-oz package confectioners sugar
1 6-ox package semi-sweet chocolate chips (1 cup)
2 Tbsp vegetable shortening

Line a baking sheet with waxed paper. In a medium bowl, mix peanut butter, butter, vanilla, and sugar with your hands (yummy, can’t you just imagine a twelve-year-old doing this?) to form a smooth dough. You could use a spoon or mixer if you’re more civilized.

The mixture will be very stiff at this point. Shape the dough into balls, using 2 teaspoons for each. Place on waxed paper and put in fridge.

In the top of a double boiler over simmering, not boiling water, melt chocolate and shortening together. When smooth and fully melted, remove peanut butter balls from fridge.

Insert a wooden toothpick into each ball and dip into melted chocolate so that 3/4 of the ball is coated. Return to wax paper, chocolate side down, and remove toothpick. Resist the urge to pick your teeth, and pick up another naked peanut butter ball. Repeat. Refridgerate on waxed paper for 30 minutes or longer, until chocolate is firm.

Store balls in sealed plastic containers, with waxed paper between layers to keep them from sticking to one another. Makes a lot (about 5 dozen).