2005-10-11

Filling:
1 1/2 lb. Powdered sugar (about 6 cups)
1/2 lb. Room temp. butter or margarine (2 sticks)
1 lb. Creamy peanut butter (2 cups)
1 tbsp. Pure vanilla extract

Coating:
12 oz. Semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 slab paraffin wax

Combine powdered sugar, butter, peanut butter and vanilla in a large bowl. Mix well. Form the dough into small balls, about 1/2 inch in diameter. Put balls in a bowl and chill in the fridge for about 1 hour.

To melt the chocolate use a small, heavy bottomed saucepan. Cut the paraffin into small chunks and place in the pan with the chocolate chips over the lowest heat. It will take a few minutes for anything to happen. Stir every minute or so with a wooden spoon.

Have several cookie sheets and several toothpicks ready.

When the chips and paraffin have melted, and have been smoothly stirred together, remove a large handful of chilled balls from the fridge. Don�t remove the whole bowl, as the dipping takes time.

Poke a toothpick into the dough ball, far enough to hold it. Dip the ball into the chocolate and swirl it to coat it, about 3/4 of the way up. Place the dipped buckeye on a cookie sheet. When one cookie sheet is full, remove another bunch of balls from the fridge and start again.

Freeze cookie sheet full of buckeyes. After they are fully frozen, 20 minutes, carefully remove the buckeyes from the pan by sliding a spatula under them so the chocolate doesn�t stick. Rub out the toothpick hole on the top. Put the buckeyes into large zip-top freezer bags or cookies tins, and store in the freezer until you need them. Let the buckeyes come to room temp before serving.