Buckeye Candies for One

There are times when you want a little sweet, something special, and something you don’t have every day. Well, these everyday ingredients go together in the nicest way. Here’s a shout out to my friends in (and from) Ohio!

1/4 cup peanut butter

4 teaspoons vegan butter, softened

Dash of vanilla extract

2/3 cup confectioners' sugar

4 TBLSP vegan chocolate chips

1 teaspoon coconut oil

Line a dinner plate with parchment or waxed paper.

1. In a small bowl, combine peanut butter, butter, vanilla and confectioners’ sugar. You will need a little muscle for this.
2. Shape the resulting glop into 1-inch balls. You should get somewhere between a dozen and 16 balls, depending on their size. Place the balls on the prepared dish and refrigerate them.
3. Melt the chocolate chips and coconut oil in a double boiler (or microwave the chips and add the oil to the hot chips).
4. Using a toothpick, pick up the peanut butter balls one at a time and dip them into the chocolate. You’ll only want to go part-way up the sides. Wipe off any extra on the edge of the chocolate bowl before placing on the dish so you don’t waste chocolate with big puddles underneath the buckeyes.
5. Refrigerate the resultant cuties for 30 minutes, or, even better, stick them in the freezer. They’re particularly yummy when they’re half frozen! Eat them when the chocolate is a nice hard shell.

If there’s leftover chocolate, toss some dried fruit (apricots, raisins, cherries—whatever you’ve got) or nuts in there and put ‘em on a plate in the freezer too. Yummmm.