Buckeyes Candy Recipe (gluten free, vegan)
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Many years ago before I knew I was allergic to so many things I went to a cookie exchange party. I made buckeye candy and brought it to share. What I didn’t realize was how much we would love them. My family loves everything chocolate and peanut butter, so I knew I would have to create a buckeyes recipe. My first questions to myself were, are buckeyes gluten free and how to make buckeyes. I pulled out my old recipe and realized how easy is would be to make vegan buckeyes that are naturally gluten free.
Buckeye Candy
These little nuggets of peanut butter goodness are addicting. My kids are my biggest critics and these got 5 star reviews from everybody. In fact they all fought over the last one. I have also been really good about controlling myself around sweets since I started my paleoish journey, but all bets were off with these vegan buckeyes. I was slipping into the fridge and grabbing one or two a few times a day. They were totally worth it!
Vegan Buckeyes
What I truly love about buckeye candy is the simplicity of making them. They take only a few incredibly simple ingredients. You can also easily double these up if your making them for a crowd. They are stored in the fridge and will soften if set out, so remember to keep them chilled at all times.
What ingredients do I need for this Buckeyes recipe?
- Peanut Butter
- Powdered Sugar
- Vegan Butter
- Vanilla Extract
- Chocolate Chips
- Coconut Oil
That’s 6 simple ingredients. If you are not dairy free then regular butter will work perfectly in this recipe.
How to make Buckeyes Candy…
Start with adding the peanut butter, powdered sugar, vanilla and melted butter to a bowl. Mix it with a hand mixer, or stand mixer until it’s fluffy and well blended.
With a cookie scoop or tablespoon (its about 1 tbsp. worth of pb dough) rough the dough into a ball and drop it on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Freeze the peanut butter dough for 20 minutes.
Once there’s about 5 minutes left you can start melting the chocolate. In a microwave safe bowl add the chocolate chips and coconut oil. Melt the chocolate in 30 second intervals and stir in between each interval. It should take 2-3 intervals.
Add toothpicks to the peanut butter balls and dip them into the melted chocolate, rotating them to cover all sides. The tops will be left out and that is why they are called buckeyes. Once dipped place back on the baking sheet and place in the freezer to set about 20 minutes. You can serve after that, or store in the fridge. That’s is how to make buckeyes, so easy!
These must be stored in the fridge because they will soften very quickly.
Are buckeyes gluten free?
With the simple ingredients used to make buckeyes, they should be gluten free. You need to always double check though. This particular recipe is gluten free and vegan.
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Ingredients
- 5 tbsp vegan butter melted
- 1 cup creamy peanut butter
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 8 oz dairy free chocolate chips
- 1 tbsp. coconut oil
Instructions
- Start with adding the peanut butter, powdered sugar, vanilla and melted butter to a bowl. Mix it with a hand mixer, or stand mixer until it's fluffy and well blended.
- With a cookie scoop or tablespoon (its about 1 tbsp. worth of pb dough) rough the dough into a ball and drop it on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Freeze the peanut butter dough for 20 minutes.
- Once there's about 5 minutes left you can start melting the chocolate. In a microwave safe bowl add the chocolate chips and coconut oil. Melt the chocolate in 30 second intervals and stir in between each interval. It should take 2-3 intervals.
- Add toothpicks to the peanut butter balls and dip them into the melted chocolate, rotating them to cover all sides. The tops will be left out and that is why they are called buckeyes. Once dipped place back on the baking sheet and place in the freezer to set about 20 minutes. You can serve after that, or store in the fridge. That's is how to make buckeyes, so easy!
Notes
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Make sure to snap a pic of your culinary creation and tag @livingfreelyglutenfree #livingfreelyglutenfree
Nutrition
Need more recipes like this buckeye candy? I’ve got you covered…
- Gluten Free Shortbread Cookies
- Christmas Sugar Cookies Gluten Free and Dairy Free
- Gluten and Dairy Free Gingerbread Men Cookies
Maybe I’m missing it, but I’m not seeing where or when to add the vanilla extract?
Tank you for letting me know. I will update that ASAP. You add the vanilla with the pb, powdered sugar and butter and then mix together.
Had to tweak the recipe, increase the vegan butter and peanut butter for that amount of powdered sugar and they we still dry and crumbly. It took a lot of work to get the ball to stick together.
Hi Tiffanie. Did you use creamy peanut butter and was the butter melted? I’ve found better results with a creamy peanut butter such as skippy or jif instead of an organic all natural pb.