Buckeye Balls
Mary Coward
Supervisor and Head Baker
Cura Hospitality at Allegheny Valley Hospital
Natrona Heights, Pa.
Although Mary Coward is the head baker at Allegheny Valley Hospital, she created these no-bake sweets as a quick addition to the array of treats she offers to patients and staff. Along with baking and supervising the foodservice team, Coward stitched hundreds of masks for the medical and dining teams at the hospital during the pandemic.
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 tsp. vanilla extract
4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
6 oz. milk chocolate
Steps
1. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In electric mixer, beat peanut butter, butter and vanilla until blended. Gradually beat in confectioners’ sugar until a smooth, stiff dough forms.
3. Shape dough into balls using 2 teaspoons of dough for each. Place on lined baking sheet; refrigerate for several hours or overnight until well chilled and firm.
4. Melt chocolate in top of double boiler, stirring occasionally until smooth; remove from heat.
Remove balls from refrigerator. Insert wooden toothpick into each ball and dip into melted chocolate. Return to parchment paper, chocolate-side down, and remove toothpick. Refrigerate 30 minutes to set.