Bourbon Bacon Buckeye Candy

Welcome to our Candy and Fudge Day, hosted by Jennifer from Take Two Tapas. You will find a lot of great candies and fudge recipes here along with my version of Buckeye Candy:  Bourbon Bacon Buckeyes.

These candies are named for their resemblance to the nut of the Buckeye tree.  Gail Tabor is given credit for creating the first Buckeye candy using a recipe of her mother's. The story goes that Gail was making the candy recipe and dipped the ball only partway into the chocolate. She showed the candy to her husband saying, "this looks like a Buckeye!" and started making them for her friends and family in Ohio. 

Some of my favorite tips for making buckeyes are:

• Freeze the balls before dipping for at least an hour.  You can freeze them overnight and dip the next day if needed.
• Use a small scoop to make all the balls the same size, but roll them in your palms to make the ball smooth all over.
• Use good chocolate for dipping.  You can add paraffin or a little coconut oil to give the chocolate a more glossy coat.
• Dip the balls with inserted toothpicks.  You can leave the toothpicks in for serving, or if you want to remove them, cover up the tiny hole left by smoothing over it with the toothpick.

Yield

48 candies

Author

Terri Steffes

Prep time

10 Min

Inactive time

1 H & 30 M

Total time

1 H & 40 M

Bourbon Bacon Buckeye Candy

My twist on a classic Christmas candy.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups creamy peanut butter
• 1/2 cup salted butter, softened
• 1 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon bourbon flavoring
• 1/4 c cooked and finely chopped bacon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 cups powdered sugar
• 12 ounces dark chocolate

Instructions

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine peanut butter, butter, vanilla, bourbon flavoring, and salt.
2. Beat with the beater blade on low until well blended.
3. Add bacon and stir in.
4. Add 3 cups powdered sugar, beating until blended.
5. Shape a scoop of peanut butter into a 1-inch or slightly larger ball. The mixture should come together smoothly. If it is too crumbly, add a touch more peanut butter. If it is too sticky, add a bit more powdered sugar.
6. Place the peanut butter balls on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper. Freeze for 30 minutes. or until you need them.
7. Melt chocolate in the microwave in 30-second intervals, stirring after each time until chocolate is smooth and creamy
8. Insert a toothpick in a peanut butter ball. Dip 3/4 of the ball into the chocolate, leaving the top uncovered to resemble a buckeye. Allow excess chocolate to drip from the buckeye.
9. Dab the bottom of the buckeye on a piece of wax paper to remove excess chocolate, then place the buckeye on a wax paper-lined baking sheet.
10. Remove toothpick. Smooth over holes. Refrigerate until firm.

Notes:

The number of candies you will get depends on the size of the ball you make. I like the balls to be a two-bite size.

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Here are some more candies and fudge recipes, like I promised!

Welcome to #CandyFudgeFavorites Day hosted by Jennifer from Take Two Tapas! It's the holidays and we are celebrating the holiday tradition of making candy and fudge!

Join me and my fellow bloggers as we share our favorite holiday candy and fudge recipes today. I know you will see some old favorites and I hope you find some new ones!

• Rocky Road Fudge from Jennifer at Take Two Tapas
• Crockpot Peanut Clusters from Jennifer at Leftovers Then Breakfast
• Chocolate Orange Fudge from Michaela at An Affair From The Heart
• Hot Cocoa Truffles from Coleen at The Red Head Baker
• Champagne Truffles from Kathleen at The Fresh Cooky
• Candied Bacon from Kathy from Lemon Blossoms
• Slow Cooker Fudge from Ashley at Cheese Curd In Paradise
• 3-Ingredient Chocolate Almond Fudge from Julie at Hostess at Heart
• Chocolate Holiday Blocks from Teri at The Freshman Cook
• Rocky Road Clusters from Kathryn at Kathryn's Kitchen Blog
• Peppermint Bark from Liz at Eat Move Make
• Sponge Candy from Inger at Art of Natural Living
• Bourbon Bacon Buckeyes from Terri at Our Good Life
• Honeycomb Candy from Jennifer at Jen Around the World
• Haystacks from Ellen at Family Around the Table
• Peppermint Pretzels from Rebecca at Devour Dinner
• Chocolate Almond Cranberry Clusters from Nicole at Daily Dish Recipes
• Turtle Fudge from Heather at Hezzi-D's Books and Cooks
• Ube Coconut Truffles from Sue at Palatable Pastime
• Christmas Gum Drop Nougat Candy from Amy at Savory Moments
• Coconut Balls from Sheila at Life Love and Good Food
• Milk Chocolate Fudge from Radha at Magical Ingredients