Do not under any circumstances allow me to make these again. They’re just too good, too rich, and too addictive to have around. Just in case I forget this public plea, I’m going to send myself an email from FutureMe.org. I’ll schedule it to arrive during the holidays next year, and urge myself to make this recipe at my own risk and only when I can immediately give them all away.
The first time I made Peanut Butter Bon Bons (some of you will probably know them as Peanut Butter Buckeyes) was with my mom many many moons ago. Then a few years ago I made them for a holiday party. That’s when the trouble began. I couldn’t stop eating them so after the guests left I threw them in the trash. My friend Hänni was absolutely mortified and demanded to know why I didn’t just send them with her to the airport (see I’m not the only one with bon bon issues), but at that point it was the bon bons or my sanity. I can’t even begin to express how hard it was not to have a total Miranda Hobbs moment and take them out of the trash and eat them, but somehow I prevailed and managed not to fall for the excruciating peanut butter temptation.
Unfortunately, time dulls all pain including bon bon induced stomach ache memories. So this year I made a huge batch to bring to a New Year’s Eve party. I kept a small container for CK and I (which means I ate the whole container), took the majority to the party, and then packed a Tupperware with the leftover Bon Bons and placed it in the freezer for CK’s Monday morning meeting. Well the Monday morning meetings were canceled. In fact, they aren’t happening again for two whole weeks, and those chocolates have begun to talk to me. I can hear them tempting me all the time with their cold, creamy goodness. I even stooped so low as to take them out of the freezer yesterday, but then I couldn’t get the cover off the container. I took this as a sign from the diet Gods, and put them back. I will not eat them! As this blog is my witness I will not eat those Peanut Butter Bon Bons again (or at least until next December).
Peanut Butter Bon Bons
Adapted from a recipe at The Kitchn.com
2 lbs. powdered sugar
3 cups creamy peanut butter (not all-natural)
1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks)
2 tsp vanilla extract (Erin’s Note: This is my addition. You don’t have to add it, but I like to).
1 1/2 lbs. chocolate chips, semi-sweet (24 oz.)
1/2 bar edible paraffin wax
Combine the first four ingredients with an electric mixer and chill in the refrigerator for at least an hour. Once chilled, roll the mixture into small 1-inch balls. (Erin’s Note: I find that using a small ice cream scoop is very helpful and keeps things uniform). When this task is complete, place the bon bons back into the refrigerator on silpat-covered baking sheets.
Melt the chocolate chips and paraffin wax in a double boiler, over, not in, boiling water, and stir the mixture until smooth. Reduce the heat to low to keep the mixture warm.
Dip each ball into the chocolate mixture using a toothpick, leaving the top of the candy uncovered. After dipping all of the bon bons, you can smooth over the toothpick marks by hand. Allow the bon bons to harden on silpat-covered baking sheets. (Erin’s Note: The Kitchn suggest doing this step on waxed paper, but I found that the waxed paper stuck to the bottom of the bon bons, whereas the chocolates that cooled on a silpat came off completely intact). Chill the trays again in the refrigerator. Once completely hard, transfer the bon bons to air-tight containers and store them in the refrigerator or freezer. If well-wrapped they can stay in the freezer for months.
{ 42 comments… read them below or add one }
Oh! I know those as buckeyes. We used to make them every year around Christmas, but I haven’t had one in ages. I’m STILL eating leftover Christmas cookies from this year, but I’ll add them to my list of things to make for next year
I have a total vanilla extract addiction also. I actually pour extra vanilla extract onto my vanilla ice cream.
Is that weird?
These look amazing. I want them for breakfast right now.
-Nick
http://www.macheesmo.com
These are the best. Love all the pics of them all lined up!
yum.
no seriously… YUM!
so hey; where do you buy your parafin? I’ve been meaning to add it to some of my things, hoping they’ll keep longer/melt less when you look at them. I never remember to think to look for it until I’m home.. which obviously does me no good.
Carrie – You can pick-up paraffin at the grocery store. It’s usually near the canning items in the baking aisle. It definitely helps with the whole melting situation surrounding making chocolates.
OMG, thank you so much for this recipe which I’ve been trying to find for ages! I remember making something similar in a cooking class I took as a child (30+ years ago!) We made them in the shape of acorns with the chocolate part on top like an acorn cap, so I had been looking for them under that name to no avail.
you know…i don’t even care for peanut butter all that much, but these look delicious! those people who had their meetings canceled don’t even know what they missed!
These look delish! Thanks for sharing!
Wowza! Now that must be tried for the holiday arsenal. God knows that some of your recipes that I’ve attempted for various soirees have my coworkers going “Where the hell did you find that?!?!? Can I get the recipe?” You hit another one out of the park, Erin!
Where were those during the Christmas season? Too bad the cover was frozen shut!!!
If you’re going to publish recipes like this, can you not save them up until the end of January when I’m not on my ‘get rid of those Christmas pounds’ campaign?!
Oh man, I can only just imagine how impossible those must have been to resist. Good thing you had the party to unload most of them
This reminds me…since I’m a SAHM now, aren’t I supposed to be having bon bons?
Yum! These look so good. I love your photos of them all lined up.
Unfortunately, I can’t eat peanut butter. It’s so sad! I have tried a couple recipes this holiday substituting cashew butter for peanut, and it just doesn’t do the trick!
I will have to just drool over the photos I guess!
I will definately try these. Always avoided in the past thinking they were too complicated. What is silpat and where should I look for it in the grocery store?
Good luck wrestling with temptation! Was it the biblical Jacob that wrestled all night with an angel? I think I’d have a better chance with the angel than with resisting those bon bons (which look almost as good as the raised doughnuts).
I love these- yours look perfect!
Your post made me chuckle. I have the same obsessions with certain things… many things, and I often toss things because I don’t want to eat them!
These look simply addictive.
Those look absolutely gorgeous–but far too dangerous to have in the house! K x
Oh my God Erin, you’re killing me. Kelly and I are trying to eat healthy in 2009, and your blog is not helping. I love it though!
While it is clear that it is unacceptable to eat bon bons out of the rubbish, what about making and eating them at seven in the morning? Hmmm…..
Those look fantastic!
I would have plowed through those things in a day too. Nothing is better than peanut butter and chocolate
Love love love these!! I am just not very good at the dipping part. I guess I’ll just have to keep making them to practice.
I make these delicious bon bons and I do not use the wax and they turn out fine. I also add some graham cracker crumbs. YUMMY!!!!!
I shouldn’t be looking at these. I started my diet today LOL They are amazing!!
These were a Christmas tradition growing up… and pretty much any other time I asked my mom to make them; it’s no wonder I was a chubby child. Found you through SU and can’t wait to come back! You’ve got great stuff over here!
I love peanut butter and this sounds awesome! very sinful but like it!
I just love the swirl of chocolate around them! They look like edible miniature billiard balls. Happy new year!
I love peanut butter balls dipped in chocolate. So very yummy!
lol–love how you outted me as a bon bon addict! my nutrition nazi reputation will forever be marred by this inconvenient truth!
Buckeyes are my WEAKNESS!!!!!! Drew’s aunt has been making them for me every Christmas for almost 10 years. I eat them ALL and love every second. YUM!!!!
Delicious. You evil being you.
Those look so delicious!
Erin, I’m a little late to this deliciousness, and I’m quite sure there are none left. Couldn’t you make another batch…just a little one?
I know these as Buckeyes, too, and was taught to make them by a native Ohio girl. As you’ve noted, they’re good enough to almost never make again. Great job!
I know the feeling…I’ve done that with countless baked goods that I kept around. So now I bake, eat one or two, and then send the rest to work with my husband immediately. Everyone wins, I get to bake and taste a bit, and his work loves me for baking for them all the time.
Buckeyes have been my favorite treats since childhood. In my family, we always add Rice Crispies and sometimes use crunchy peanut butter for a fabulous texture. The only downside of the additional crunch is that you can’t just scoop out the dough with your handy-dandy tool–Rice Crispies mean much more work in the rolling stage, but TOTALLY worth it.
Just something to try the next time you lose all self-control! Thanks for all the great cooking ideas.
Oh, one of my alltime favorites. Thanks for the recipe.
I want lots of these. Nice photos too. I make my own vanilla extract and it is way better than store bought. I get bourbon vanilla beans from an online called Juliet Mae Spices. I chop them up and soak in bourbon whiskey for a few months and yum.
Thank you for the recipe. My daughter is away at college and lets me know when its time for a bon-bon fix!!! This has become her favorite.
I made these for a fantasy football party that my husband was hosting last sunday night. Fourteen grown men couldn’t finish them off! They’ve been calling my name ever since, and unfortunately i’ve been answering the call…
We like to poke lollipop sticks into them after they go on the tray. Less messy to eat, fun to look at and everything tastes better on a stick, right?
Call them what you want, but these are Candy Buckeyes! Please don’t insult Ohioans with bon bons.
I know these as Mud Balls! We add crunchy pb and rice crispies! They are my favorite cookie. I just finished off the last one from Christmas this past weekend. I am super sad that they are gone.