Healthy Homemade Buckeyes – an Irresistible & Satisfying Treat for Kids

Why Your Kids Will Beg for These Buckeyes

Healthy homemade buckeyes are a novelty we didn’t always have access to. But traditional buckeyes were one of my favorite treats to make with my mom during the Christmas season as a kid. Who can resist the rich and satisfying flavor of sweet peanut butter covered in a thick layer of chocolate coating?

Healthy homemade buckeyes are simply, inherently irresistible.

So when my older daughter needed to be on a low-carb, low-sugar diet for a while, my mom started making buckeyes sweetened with sugar alcohols like xylitol. My daughter (and the rest of us) went crazy for them!

However, I stopped using sugar alcohols a while ago (you can read more about that in my article, “The Problem with Sugar Alcohols“). But my daughter still asked for those delicious peanut butter buckeyes.

So I decided to come up with a new recipe for easy buckeye peanut butter balls that would be free from refined sugar and sugar alcohols. And I did!

My daughter still goes crazy for homemade buckeyes. And I don’t mind making them for her, because these are healthy buckeyes sweetened only with raw honey.

But your kids probably won’t care about how healthy these buckeye balls are. They won’t really care if they are sweetened with refined sugar, xylitol or raw honey. All they care about is the taste.

Which is why I test my recipes on my own kids and their friends. Because they will give me their unbiased opinion on taste every single time.

And I can assure you that these chocolate-covered no bake energy balls are at the very top of my kids’ favorite treats list. I mean, my older daughter gets out-of-this-world excited when I make these healthy buckeyes!

Oh, and did I mention my daughter is one of the pickiest eaters on earth?

That’s how I know that your kids will beg you to make these peanut butter buckeyes the same as my kids do. Because if they can not only pass the taste test but greatly exceed it with my picky daughter, I’m confident that your kids will crave them too.

When to Whip Up a Batch of Healthy Homemade Buckeyes

Honestly, you can make these up anytime and store them in the freezer just fine for quite a while. Or, you can also just make the peanut butter balls and store them in the freezer to dip in chocolate another day if you don’t have time to make them up entirely.

These healthy homemade buckeye peanut butter balls make great after-school snacks. With 4 grams of protein per ball, they are nice and filling. But they are also very rich and most definitely pass as a dessert.

I sometimes pack these in my daughter’s school lunch as a dessert and they do not seem to get too melty as long as I put an ice pack in her lunch bag (which I always do). So these could certainly be sent with your child to school either as dessert or as a snack as long as they are kept cold.

You could also take these buckeyes on a picnic packed in a cooler with an ice pack. Or, serve them as a living room picnic treat on a special day off from school while you play games, read books or watch movies.

And of course, buckeyes are an excellent choice for holidays such as Christmas. I already mentioned how much I enjoyed making and eating homemade buckeyes with my mom at Christmas time as a kid. But those were anything but healthy.

By contrast, these healthy homemade buckeyes would be a great alternative or break from all the refined sugar your kids will be around during holidays. And the best part is that they won’t even know that they are eating a healthy treat. They won’t feel like they are missing out while they indulge in this decadent, honey-sweetened Christmas goodie.

These could also be made for a special Valentine’s Day treat. Anything chocolate goes on Valentine’s Day, and I would definitely count buckeyes in for this sweet holiday.

And last but not least, if your kids love these as much as mine do, you’ll be making these any old random time just to give them a fun surprise or to brighten up their week.

Ingredients

• Butter: Butter solidifies once cold, helping the peanut butter balls to hold their shape. It is preferable to use grass-fed Irish butter or organic butter for added health benefits. Butter is also an important fat source and hardening ingredient in the chocolate coating.

• Honey: Raw, unfiltered honey is essential in this recipe in order to have firm peanut butter balls when cold. Raw honey is also the natural sweetener in the chocolate coating. I get mine from Home Goods when possible, but you can also get raw honey from Trader Joes, sometimes Costco and also Amazon.

• Peanut Butter: Use natural, no-sugar-added peanut butter to avoid refined sugar. It is also best to make sure your peanut butter does not have any added oils as this means the peanut oil has been taken out and replaced with something cheaper. My favorite is Kirkland brand (from Costco) natural peanut butter.

• Collagen Powder: Collagen adds a little more protein to the buckeyes. But more importantly, it is very beneficial for gut health. I love the Mama Natural collagen powder because it features six different types of collagen. That is more than most other collagen brands can boast.

• Unsweetened Bakers Chocolate: Bakers chocolate is the perfect base for creating a nice hard shell for the chocolate coating on these peanut butter buckeye balls. Make sure to get unsweetened bakers chocolate.
  

Instructions

Peanut Butter Balls

Step 1

Add all ingredients to a medium-size mixing bowl.

Step 2

Using an electric stand or hand mixer, mix until fully combined with no lumps.

Step 3

Using a measuring spoon, scoop 2 TBS of peanut butter batter into each muffin cup of the mini muffin tins. You should end up with 15-16 cups filled.

Step 4

Refrigerate for one hour.

Step 5

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Step 6

Pull the muffin tins out of the fridge and, working one at a time, scoop the peanut butter batter out of each cup and roll into smooth balls with your hands (see note). Place on the baking sheet.

Step 7

Once all balls are rolled, place the baking sheet in the freezer overnight to harden.

Chocolate Coating

Step 1

Place all ingredients in a small pot on the stove.

Step 2

Heat on low heat, stirring frequently until all ingredients are melted and well mixed. Turn off heat.

Step 3

Remove peanut butter balls from freezer.

Step 4

Using a toothpick, stab a ball and dip it in the chocolate, rolling it around until it is fully coated except for a small portion on top.

Step 5

Place chocolate-coated ball back on the parchment-lined baking sheet, using the tip of your finger to gently remove it from the toothpick. Repeat will all peanut butter balls.

Step 6

Place baking sheet of chocolate-coated peanut butter balls back in the freezer for a half hour or in the fridge for 2 hours to allow the chocolate to harden.

Step 7

Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to two weeks or in the freezer for up to three months.

Substitutions & Tips

• Although I have not tried it yet with this particular recipe, you could mostly likely substitute the peanut butter in these buckeyes with almond butter if you wanted to. The flavor will obviously differ, but the consistency should be pretty similar. If you do try this, please let me know how they turn out in the comments.

• You absolutely must use raw honey for these buckeyes. Raw honey is thicker and has more body to it that helps keep the peanut butter balls more solid when they are cold. Processed honey will run and cause issues with consistency.

• Make sure your butter sits out until it is completely room temperature so that it will mix in seamlessly with the peanut butter without leaving lumps behind.

• Using gloves to roll and shape your peanut butter balls after they’ve been refrigerated helps to reduce how much they stick to your hands.

• Make sure to freeze the peanut butter balls for a sufficient amount of time after they have been shaped into balls. If they are not fully frozen when you try to dip them in warm chocolate, they will begin to melt in the chocolate.

• Only pull a few peanut butter balls out to dip at a time so that they do not thaw and soften while you dip the others.