Buckeye Bars

Peanut Butter and Chocolate. Are there any flavors that go more perfectly together?

I say no. So there.

Growing up in Ohio I got to have a little treat called Buckeyes. Peanut butter balls covered in chocolate so that it looks like a buckeye nut. It was definitely a sweet alternative to it's deadly look alike as the actual buckeye nut is poisonous. But here's the thing... I don't know how to make buckeyes.

I am sure they are so easy. My grandmother made them while I was growing up. But for some reason the thought of dipping things in chocolate after what I call the "Cake Ball Disaster of '09" just didn't appeal to me.

So while having a bad peanut butter chocolate craving that a peanut butter cup just wasn't going to fix I decided I was going to make Buckeye Bars for an upcoming potluck we were invited to!

Let's get started, shall we?

Looks pretty easy right? Not a lot of ingredients here. The best part is that these are no bake bars! I love things that turn out just the way I want them to without me having to heat up my kitchen.

First go ahead and line an 8" x 8" or 9" x 9" pan with foil. This is going to make it much easier to lift these out of the pan and cut them.

Next we're going to crush 22 Vanilla Wafers. You can do this in the food processor or by putting them in a plastic bag and crushing the heck out of them with a rolling pin or can.

I like doing them in batches of 11. Makes it a little bit easier to ultimately crush.

You're going to want it about the same consistency as our bread crumbs were for the Key Lime Pie.

Now go ahead and set those crumbs aside, we will come back to them in a minute.

Now take your stick of softened butter (And if you need to soften, just put it in the microwave for about 5 seconds)...

And 3/4 of a cup of extra crunchy peanut butter...

And mix together until well combined with your hand mixer.

Could you do this by hand? Sure. But I promise you really don't want to. This stuff gets thick fast.

Now take those vanilla wafer crumbs and mix them into your combined mixture.

And stir together until it's all combined...

Now comes the fun part. Gradually mix in 2 cups of powdered sugar.

And when I say gradually, I mean it! Like, a half of a cup at a time. This powdered sugar is going to make your peanut butter batter get thick, and fast.

In fact, now may be a good time to recruit some stirring help.

I have found that small children with strong arms or husband who love peanut butter are good recruits for this.

It's going to lighten in color and become what essentially feels like a crummy dough.

This is exactly what we want!

Go ahead and plop that dough into your foil lined pan.

And spread it all out evenly. You want it as even as you can get it so that the chocolate is easier to spread on top.

Set that aside for now. Go ahead and get out a microwave safe bowl and put in half of your frozen cool whip.

Add in 3 square or 3 ounces of your semi sweet baking chocolate.

Microwave on high for one minute. This is not going to quite get your chocolate melted, but it will start the process.

Stir until you can see your chocolate starting to break down. Then plop the bowl back in the microwave for about 15 to 30 seconds or until the chocolate is melted.

Stir until smooth...

And pour over your peanut butter dough.

Spread the chocolate mixture all over your dough evenly. Then try to take a picture of wet chocolate.

Okay you don't have to do that last part, but man was it painful to try and take a picture of this stuff!

Put into the fridge for at least 2 hours to set.

Once the chocolate has set go ahead and pull the foil out of your pan and gently peal the foil off the sides of your bars.

Now along the sides here the chocolate is probably not going to be as thick as it will be in the middle. If it looks like this:

Don't panic. It's still going to be delicious, the chocolate is just not as thick on mine at the sides.

Go ahead and cut your buckeye bars into squares. Now, you can do this on the foil or not, it's up to you.

Once they are cut up, go ahead and put them in an airtight container to store in the fridge. Try to resist eating one right away...

Unless you wanna be a slave to your urges like me.

Buckeye Bars

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened

3/4 cup crunchy peanut butter

22 Vanilla Wafers, crushed

2 cups powdered sugar

1/2 of 8-oz. container of Cool Whip or Whipped Topping, Frozen

3 ounces Semi-Sweet Chocolate

Line a 8-inch or 9-inch square pan with foil, with ends of foil extending over sides. Beat butter and peanut butter with mixer until blended. Mix in wafer crumbs. Gradually add sugar, mixing well after each addition. Press onto bottom of pan.

Microwave cool whip and chocolate in microwaveable bowl on high for 1 minute, stir. Microwave 15 to 30 sec. or until chocolate is melted; stir until blended. Spread over peanut butter layer.

Refrigerate for 2 hours. Use foil handles to lift dessert from pan before cutting to serve. Store in an airtight container and refrigerate.