Twelve Days of Baking - Day 10

Once again, today's recipe doesn't involve baking, but it's still a good one.

A popular holiday treat in my family is the buckeye. I've only actually made them once that I can remember, but everyone else always makes them and brings them to family gatherings around Christmas.

If you don't know, a buckeye is a peanut butter mixture shaped into a ball then dipped in chocolate. They are quite delicious. (Here's an interesting fact - we don't have them in Colorado, but  the buckeye is actually a tree that produces a nut that looks like the chocolate dipped peanut butter ball. I guess that's where they get their name. Google it for a picture if you're interested.)

While buckeyes are very delicious, they are also very tedious to make, so when I came across a recipe for buckeye bark, I knew I wanted to try it.

It's very simple and quick to make.

Buckeye Bark

2 1/2 pounds of chocolate
1 pound creamy peanut butter
2 cups powdered sugar
1 stick butter, melted
1 tsp vanilla

Melt half of the chocolate. Spread in a greased or parchment lined 9x13 pan. Freeze until set. Whip together remaining ingredients. Spread over the chocolate. Return pan to freezer. Melt remaining chocolate. Spread over peanut butter layer. Freeze until set. Break into pieces. Makes a lot.

 

Notes: I had a little less than 2 pounds of chocolate, so that is what I used and it is plenty. Also, I didn't melt the butter, just softened it, and it worked just fine.