Having lived most of my life on the West Virginia side of the West Virginia-Ohio border I often heard jokes about the Buckeyes(Ohioans) being worthless nuts. Buckeye trees were common in the area, so I was also aware of making sure to distinguish between buckeyes and chestnuts when collecting nuts. However, my favorite reference to a buckeye (other than one of my relatives) has to be the candy.
Buckeye balls are the wonderful combination of chocolate and peanut butter shaped into a ball with just enough of the peanut butter filling visible to be reminiscent of buckeye nuts. If it is not visible, then it is just another peanut butter filled chocolate…in my opinion.
If you do not like the popular commercial peanut butter and chocolate cups, you still might like a buckeye ball. Personally, I love buckeye balls almost as much as I dislike those orange wrapped cups.
Although my mom did not make them often in her later years, I did find her recipe. The only change I made was using Mercken’s melting chocolate instead of the chocolate chips and shortening mixture. Either one works well.