Buckeye Fudge Candy Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is Buckeye candy made of? ›

Buckeyes are a confection made from a peanut butter fudge partially dipped in chocolate to leave a circle of peanut butter visible. Buckeyes are similar to peanut butter balls (or peanut-butter-filled chocolate balls), which are completely covered in chocolate.

You have to control two temperatures to make successful fudge: the cooking temperature AND the temperature at which the mixture cools before stirring to make it crystallize. Confectionery experiments have shown that the ideal cooking temperature for fudge is around 114 to 115 °C (237 to 239 °F).

Why Is My Fudge Chewy & Gooey? When something goes wrong when making fudge, The culprit is likely to be the temperature. Chewy fudge results from the excessive moisture present in the mixture, which means the fudge was not cooked to the right temperature and could not be cooked enough to release the moisture.

Sugar Crystals Formed

It's important to beat the fudge ingredients to develop the right texture, but you won't get smooth, creamy fudge if you beat it when it's too hot. Beating fudge when it's still over heat creates sugar crystals, aka the grittiness you feel in the fudge.

The buckeye candy resembles the nut of the buckeye tree, with a shiny, dark brown exterior and light brown "eye." The story goes that buckeye's name came from Native Americans who thought the glossy, chestnut-brown seed resembled the eye of, you guessed it, a buck (that's a male deer, for you city folk).

So, while the chocolate-covered, peanut butter candy may well be called moose eyes in the northeast, hereabouts they are called buckeyes.

Once a seed crystal forms, it grows bigger and bigger as the fudge cools. A lot of big crystals in fudge makes it grainy. By letting the fudge cool without stirring, you avoid creating seed crystals.

It's the size of sugar crystals that makes the knees of fudge lovers buckle…the smaller the crystals, the less they are perceived on the tongue and the more the fudge tastes smooth and creamy. Cooking, and beating after cooking, is the key to successful fudge.

If you didn't reach the correct temperature during the cooking process, it might not set properly. Use a candy thermometer to ensure that you reach the recommended temperature. Overcooking or Undercooking:Solution: Cooking the fudge for too long or too short a time can affect its texture.

Why did my fudge turn out gooey? ›

You wait patiently, only to discover that it's still a sticky, gummy mess. But don't despair or throw out the entire pan of fudge: You can probably remedy the situation. Fudge usually behaves this way when it's not cooked to a high enough temperature (due to oversight or a faulty candy thermometer).

The ingredients for fudge are combined and cooked to 234 degrees, cooled to 110 degrees without stirring, then beaten until creamy. Candy that isn't cooked long enough will end up too soft; overcooking makes fudge crumbly or hard.

Avoid Stirring Once the Mixture Comes to a Simmer

Another key part of a successful fudge texture is when you stir the mixture. Stirring the sugar and milk during the initial stages of cooking allows the sugar to dissolve. However, once the mixture comes to a boil, it's time to put the spoon down.

Cream of tartar is used in caramel sauces and fudge to help prevent the sugar from crystallizing while cooking. It also prevents cooling sugars from forming brittle crystals, this is why it's the secret ingredient in snickerdoodles!

It sounds like your fudge simply wasn't heated enough. Fudge is basically a superconcentrated syrup, and it sets when sugar dissolved in the water (from the butter and milk) comes out of solution as the mixture cools and forms crystals.

Poisonous Plant: All parts of the plant (leaves, bark, fruit) are highly toxic if ingested – because of the glycoside aesculin, the saponin aescin, and possibly alkaloids. Symptoms are muscle weakness and paralysis, dilated pupils, vomiting, diarrhea, depression, paralysis, and stupor.

Buckeyes taste like peanut butter cups with an emphasis on the peanut butter! Not too sweet, really creamy, and so satisfying.

Removing the shell and roasting the nut neutralizes its harmful tannic acid content and makes for a protein-packed snack. If not prepared properly though, buckeye nuts are toxic to humans, causing symptoms including weakness, diarrhea, vomiting, paralysis, and death.

The fruit of buckeyes is unusual. Several shiny, brown nuts (poisonous to humans) are present inside a thin hull that splits into several pieces. The hull of yellow buckeye is smooth, while the hull of Ohio buckeye is spiny.