I woke up in the middle of the night with fairly intense aching pain in my hands, most notably my right hand. The worst of the pain being in my right middle finger. Cue all the laughs and inappropriate hunches as the use (over-use?) of my middle finger. You’ll never know!
What I will tell you is I have only 2 guesses as to why this pain is happening and I can’t help but think you’d never guess either one. You can’t make this stuff up!
The first possibility is that I arm wrestled not one, but two, women last night. Is a Friendsmas really a Friendsmas without a good arm wrestle anyway? I whooped on victim #1 and #2 might’ve just given up. It was a good match and we’re both pretty buff 😉 Such a fun night and I’m so glad I have the pictures to remember it by.
It has been years since I last arm wrestled and if it results in this kind of pain, I vow to leave me bicep ego untapped the next time the opportunity to arm wrestle comes about.
The second possibility is holiday baking and all the resulting cleaning. And it’s not just baking, it’s the pain-in-the-butt stuff like BUCKEYES that are such a chore. The fine motor skills and repetitiveness. By Saturday at 4pm, I had made a double batch of Peanut Butter Blossoms, a double batch of Peppermint Oreo Truffles, a double batch of Crock Pot Peanut Clusters, 100+ Frosted Sugar Cookies (with kids ages 7, 6, 5, and 4 – oh my)…and a triple batch of Buckeyes. Plus 5 pounds of mashed potatoes and a winter salad with homemade dressing to take to the Friendsmas. Plus, of course, all the cleaning that’s involved with that amount of food preparation.
I’ll be honest, I don’t do THAT kind of cooking/baking any more. I enjoyed it, until I didn’t. Buckeyes are always my least favorite thing to make at the holidays and so why do it? EVERYONE requests them. It’s what everyone wants from this dietitian, what can I say!? I’ve perfected the timing over the years and the updated directions are below. They’re a true labor of love!
P.S. My hand and middle finger are still in rough shape – not sure how my semi-final hockey game will go tonight – eek. #worthit
Buckeyes
Decadent, peanut butter ball delights that originated (unfortunately) from Columbus, Ohio...home of the Ohio State Buckeyes (blergh!)
Ingredients
- 6 cups powdered sugar
- 3 sticks + 6 Tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 3 cups creamy peanut butter
- 3 packages (36 oz) semisweet chocolate morsels*
- 3/4 block paraffin wax, chopped
- 115 toothpicks
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the powdered sugar, butter, and peanut butter, mixing until well-incorporated and scraping down the sides of the bowl, as needed.
- Chill in the fridge for at least 4 hours, or overnight.
- Using a 1-inch scoop, scoop the cold peanut butter mixture into similar-sized heaps and arrange on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Freeze for 15-20 minutes.
- Roll into round, smooth balls using the palms of your hands. If the balls are not smooth, re-freeze the dough for 15 minutes and re-roll them to be smooth.
- Meanwhile, combine the chocolate and wax in a double boiler or glass bowl over a pot of gently boiling water, mixing often. Don't rush this process, it should take about 30 minutes.
- Dip peanut butter balls in chocolate, using a toothpick, leaving a round eclipse at the top. Let dry on wax or parchment paper, returning them to the fridge or freezer. Allow chocolate the harden and peanut butter to firm up.
- Remove the toothpick and smooth peanut butter to cover the hole. Store in a covered container in the fridge.
Notes
You will only use about 24 ounces of chocolate chips, but need the 36 ounces for dipping
Nutrition Information:
Serving Size: 1 buckeyeAmount Per Serving: Calories: 112Total Fat: 7.5gCholesterol: 8mgSodium: 56mgCarbohydrates: 10.7gFiber: 0.7gSugar: 9.1gProtein: 1.6g
Lots of Christmas favorites upcoming, but here’s some honorable mentions!
- Peppermint Mocha Cookies
- Turtle Cookies
- Red Velvet Crinkle Cookies
- Potato Chip Cookies
- English Toffee
- White Chocolate Peppermint Fudge
- Biscoff Cookie Truffles
- Fruit and Nut Shortbread Cookies
Weekly Menu: December 12th – 16th
- Sunday: leftovers
- Monday: Seared Scallops and Lemon Parmesan Risotto with brussels sprouts
- Tuesday: Book Club for me / not sure for the crew
- Wednesday: Garlic Butter Salmon with broccoli and mashed potatoes
- Thursday: Best White Chicken Chili with corn bread
Be well,
I make these peanut butter balls every year (I’m a gator, I refuse to call them buckeyes)…we use a similar recipe, but add rice krispies and we use chunky pb. The best! It IS a labor of love, so I’ve now broken it up into make the middle, take a break/put them in the fridge…roll the balls, take a break and then dip. My best friend can’t live without them (I used to ship them from FL to CT for 13 years – LOL). This year, she went to the store all by herself and bought all the ingredients (I usually have to bring everything to her house and I’ve given her the recipe at least a dozen times so I was pretty proud) and I made them – LOL. Don’t envy you on the cutouts – those are NOT my jam! We did a cookie baking day with friends on Saturday (and their littles) – it was nuts and loud and so fun…but exhausting. LOL.
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I think I would like the texture of those peanut butter balls (much better name, too!). As-is, they’re good, but I’m a one and done. We did the cutouts with the kids and my dining room carpet will forever have a section of blue now….. O:-) Merry Christmas, friend!