Not quite Buckeyes, these chocolate covered peanut butter balls with crushed Butterfingers and Corn Flakes are slightly less sweet and a little crunchier than their Ohio-born cousins. I've been making these for years with either Corn Flakes or Rice Krispies, and have decided that the Corn Flakes version is the best. The Corn Flakes make the peanut butter balls taste more like Butterfinger and add a little crunch.
The Right Peanut Butter
The trick is to use the right peanut butter. I love Teddie brand unsweetened, but No-Bake Peanut Butter Butterfinger Balls work so much better with sweetened peanut butter such as Peter Pan. The texture is less crumbly and dry and the flavor is better. So go with a mainstream, sweetened peanut butter. You can use crunchy or creamy.
Food Prep Gloves
Another thing I recommend when making these is food prep or food-safe gloves. Your hands are the best tool for shaping the candies into neat balls, and the gloves make the process less messy. Even if you use a small cookie scoop to portion (which I have to do), it helps to roll the balls really tight between your palms so they'll be spherical and look pretty when dipped.
Chocolate Dipping
And speaking of dipping, you can dip or drizzle. My method is to set the shaped ball in a little circle of melted chocolate which has been spooned onto a parchment lined tray. Spoon more chocolate over the ball so that it drips down and meets the chocolate circle below, then carefully transfer to a cleaner sheet of parchment. When set, serve your chocolate dipped peanut butter balls in mini foil candy holders. You can completely ignore this and use any dipping method. The filling is what's best about this one.
There's not much more to say about these because if you love these types of Buckeye candies you've probably made them. But if you've never tried the Corn Flakes and Butterfinger version, I hope you'll love this recipe.
Recipe
No-Bake Peanut Butter Butterfinger Balls with Corn Flakes
Ingredients
- 1 cup peanut butter (260 grams)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ⅓ cups confectioners' sugar (160 grams)
- 4 tablespoons salted butter, softened (almost melted (56 grams)
- 1 cup Corn Flakes, crushed (100 grams)
- 2 regular Butterfinger bars (1.9 oz each), crushed crushed
- Plenty of chocolate for melting and dipping
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients except for the chocolate and stir until evenly blended.
- Use a small cookie scoop or a tablespoon to scoop out uniform size portions of peanut butter mixture.
- Wearing food safe gloves, mold the scooped portions into neat circles.
- Chill or freeze briefly while you melt the chocolate in the microwave or in the top of a double boiler.
- Line a small tray or cutting board or something flat that can fit in the refrigerator with a clean sheet of parchment. Repeat with a second tray or just use a large plate. Spoon a few small circles of chocolate onto the second parchment lined tray and set peanut butter balls in the center of the chocolate circles. Spoon chocolate over and let it drip down and meet the chocolate below. Carefully, using two forks, lift the chocolates out of their puddle and set them on the clean parchment tray. When you have dipped several, put them in the refrigerator to chill.
- Put the set peanut butter balls in miniature foil liners.
Sue says
That’s a great answer Anna! It covers a lot of options which is really helpful! Thank you!
Anna says
Sue, I use different dipping chocolate depending on what we have. 80% of the time I make these for myself, so I use milk chocolate Cadbury or Dove, both of which I happen to love even though Cadbury seems to have changed. I also like the Trader Joe's pound plus bars in dark and milk. If you are making them for gifts, you could go with couverture. Worldwide Chocolate has a lot of good ones. Sorry that's not the best answer, but I don't have one specific favorite dipping chocolate.
Sue says
I’ve never made Buckeyes or Butterfinger Balls. I know I’d love either of them so I don’t know why I haven’t tried it. I think the subject most often comes up between Thanksgiving and Christmas and I do so much baking then that there simply isn’t time.
What kind of chocolate do you recommend for the dipping or drizzling? Our daughter has made several of the candies from Bravetart and they have all been excellent. She uses couverture chocolate for dipping.
Anna says
Darlene, there is a recipe for homemade Butterfinger with made melted candy corn and peanut butter. There are a couple of other versions including one with Corn Flakes. I've tried them all, and the Corn Flakes one was the closest to the real thing. Thanks for reminding me about the candy corn version because I'd completely forgotten about it.
Darlene says
I'd love to try this recipe as Butterfingers are one of my favorite candies. I saw Kardea Brown make her Buttery Fingers on the Food Network and wondered if she's correct in saying the secret ingredient to homemade Butterfingers is candy corn. Have you ever tried that, Anna? Her recipe doesn't include a crunchy ingredient. I think the Corn Flakes you include would be a crucial addition.