Max’s Buckeyes

Written By Amy Linkous

When getting this started, I couldn’t think of a better place to start than with Max’s Buckeyes. Every Buckeye I’ve eaten is immediately compared to Max’s and 99.9% of them come up far short.

The recipe pictured above historically proves to feed the entire staff at Big Bear, all of your family and neighbors, as well as an entire flight crew on a plane to Florida with plenty left over to store for several months in the freezer for when friends stop by. I used the scratched in calculations on the side to make a meager 50 or so Buckeyes.

Before we jump in, a few notes:

  • 4x sugar is a thing, just not one we can buy anymore (and if you find it, let me know). I used normal powdered sugar from the store which is 10x sugar.

  • Oleo is the same as margarine. I used Parkay.

  • Paraffin has fallen out of favor in cooking. Most recipes you see today call for coconut oil, or the chocolate baking discs instead of chocolate chips. But if it was good enough for Max, its good enough for me. I found Gulf Wax in the canning section at Meijer.

Ingredients- Full Recipe

  • 3lbs of Confectioner (powdered) sugar

  • 1lb of Oleo (Margarine)

  • 2lbs Peanut butter

  • 3- 12oz Packages of semi-sweet chocolate chips

  • 1oz of paraffin (1/4 of 1 slab)

Ingredients- Condensed Recipe (about 50 Buckeyes)

  • 1.25lbs of Confectioner (powdered) sugar

  • 1/2lb of Oleo (Margarine)

  • 15oz Peanut Butter

  • 1 and 1/2 12oz packages of semi-sweet chocolate chips

  • 1/2 an oz of paraffin (1/8 of 1 slab)

Instructions

Cover a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

Melt the margarine.

Add peanut butter to mixing bowl and add melted margarine. Mix until well combined and smooth.

Slowly add powdered sugar a bit at a time until well combined.

Form peanut butter balls by rolling between your hands. I used a dinner spoon sized amount. Stick a toothpick in each peanut butter ball.

Freeze for 30 minutes. I refrigerated for 60 min and it sort of worked as well. Just a few lost souls fell into the bowl of chocolate.

When the peanut butter is done, melt the paraffin in a pan. Once melted, add the chocolate chips and stir consistently. You don’t want it to burn. I tried doing the paraffin and chocolate together in the microwave stirring every 30 seconds and the wax didn’t melt evenly.

Dip each peanut butter ball into the chocolate and return to the parchment paper.

Put back in the refrigerator or freezer until set.

Amy Linkous
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