Crunchy Buckeyes

Buckeye candies are a staple this time of year but have you ever had crunchy buckeyes with crunchy peanut butter and crispy rice cereal?

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It’s the first day of The Ohio State Buckeyes football season which means #PBchocSat is back! To start the season I decided to unveil my 2026 buckeye variety right off the bat instead of waiting for the first Big Ten game. I guess I don’t have a true tradition when it comes tot he timing of that but I sometimes do.

Not to be confused with my buckeye rice crispy treats which are balls of peanut butter rice crispy treats dipped into chocolate like a buckeye, these crunchy buckeyes have puffed rice cereal mixed in to make them even crunchier – or maybe they are actually crispy? I ended up sticking to “crunchy” because I did also make these buckeyes with crunchy peanut butter.

Why the addition of puffed rice cereal? When you add all the butter and powdered sugar to the crunchy peanut butter the crunch factor decreases. At first I considered adding chopped peanuts but worried about being able to stab the buckeyes with a toothpick if they had that many crunchy bits inside. If you just want to make peanut butter balls that are fully covered with chocolate then this won’t be an issue, but for me they need to have that eye!

After a little bit of recipe researching I landed on adding puffed rice cereal – they are a crispy crunch while still being able to stab them with a toothpick. As you can see int he photo below, you will get bits of both peanuts and crispy rice cereal inside and they are a delight.

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CRUNCHY BUCKEYES

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Yield: 8 dozen Prep Time: 1 Hour

Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Ingredients

• 1-1/2 cups creamy peanut butter
• 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 3 oz. (~3 cups) puffed rice cereal
• 1 lb. (~4 cups) sifted powdered sugar
• 12 oz. semi-sweet chocolate candy coating*
• Wooden toothpicks, preferably round

Directions

1. Line two baking sheets with waxed paper; set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, mix peanut butter and butter until blended. Fold in the puffed rice cereal until evenly distributed, then mix in the powdered sugar one cup at a time to reach desired consistency.
3. Shape into balls using 2 teaspoons of dough for each ball (or a small cookie scoop). Place on prepared pan, insert a wooden toothpick, and place in the freezer.
4. Melt chocolate in a double boiler (or metal/glass bowl over a pot of lightly simmering water). Stir occasionally until smooth, and remove from heat.
5. Remove balls from freezer. Dip into melted chocolate leaving a small circle uncovered at the base of the toothpick. Return to wax paper, chocolate side down. Repeat with remaining balls.
6. Refrigerate for 30 minutes or until set. Remove toothpicks and if desired, carefully smudge the holes left behind with fingertip.

Notes

*Chocolate chips will not melt as well as candy coating.

Source: Adapted from my Potato Chip Buckeyes and Food Network.