I didn’t even know that some people called these candies peanut butter balls until recently.  My whole life, I’ve known them as Buckeyes.  I guess that’s not too surprising since they were my grandma’s specialty, and she was born in Ohio!  Grandma’s Buckeyes were delicious, but they were a little intimidating.  For one thing, you actually melted paraffin wax into the chocolate.  What?  I guess it made them shinier.

Luckily, I came upon this really simple recipe in my Better Homes and Gardens cookbook.  They were so easy (and delicious) that my preschooler and I ended up making a couple of batches during the holiday season last year.

Related Pages: No Bake Cookies, Anise Cookie Recipes

What you need to make buckeyes:

• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 3 Tbs. butter (softened)
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1/2 bag chocolate chips

Buckeyes (peanut butter balls) really only take four ingredients.

Mix the butter and peanut butter, then sift in the powdered sugar while continuing to mix.

Roll the mixture with your hands into 1" balls.

I started letting the peanut butter balls chill for about 20 minutes in the fridge to make the next part easier.

Melt chocolate chips in the microwave in 20-second increments, pulling them out and stirring them before continuing to heat.

We used a whole bag of chocolate chips, and there was so much left over that we made a batch of chocolate spoons as gifts.

Insert a toothpick into each peanut butter ball and swirl it around in the chocolate until all but the center is covered. Gently shake of excess chocolate and place on a cookie sheet covered with wax paper to dry.

Seriously, how did I not know about this!?

I’ve always heard of snickerdoodles, but I had NO IDEA how good they really are.  Now, my how family is aware, and we’ll likely be using this snickerdoodle recipe many, many times.  The cookies stayed soft for days, even when left out in the air.

Related Pages: 12 Christmas Sugar Cookie Recipes, Applesauce Recipes

Snickerdoodle Cookies Recipe:

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp cream of tartar (Yes, there is something other than home made play dough that uses cream of tartar!)
• 2 TBS sugar
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  

  How to make snickerdoodles.

Beat the butter on med-high for about 30 seconds before adding half of the flour, the sugar, egg, vanilla, baking soda, and cream of tartar. Then add the rest of the flour and beat it all together.

In a smaller bowl, mix together the sugar and cinnamon.

Roll your dough into 1-inch balls and then roll them around in the sugar/cinnamon mixture.

Place the balls two inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake for about 11 minutes at 375 degrees (F). The edges will brown slightly.

Cool your snickerdoodles on a wire rack (or, you know, whatever).

Making no bake cookies with kids is fun.

Dot and I enjoy baking, but nothing gets requested as often as these yummy, yummy no-bake cookies.  Despite the fact that there’s a fair amount of sugar and butter, I try to tell myself that it’s offset by the oats and peanut butter, for a cookie that’s not entirely horrible for us.

To make no bake cookies, you will need:

2 cups sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 pinch salt
1/2 cup peanut butter
3 cups minute oats

Ingredients for no bake cookie recipe

• Start by putting the milk, butter, sugar, and cocoa into a saucepan.
• Heat the mixture to boiling and let it boil for 1 1/2 minutes.
• Remove from heat.
• Stir in peanut butter, oats, and vanilla.  (I put the peanut butter in first so it can melt before I add the oats.)

Boiling the no bake cookie mixture for 1 1/2 minutes is supposed to be the key to getting these to turn out just right.

The mixture will be very hot, so I usually have Dot watch me as I scoop spoonfuls out onto wax paper.  She then “helps” by flattening them down with a spatula.

This recipe makes about 36 no bake cookies.

What I Learned the Hard Way: Every once in a while, I get a batch of these that won’t quite firm up.  I have yet to figure out why, exactly.  What I have learned, however, is that you can put them in the freezer to harden them up, and they’re still totally delicious.  (Seriously, even if they’re just piles of goo on the wax paper, they’re totally delicious.)

Be sure to check out this incredible collection of anise cookie recipes, too!

Christmas Sugar Cookie Recipes

Basic Sugar Cut Out Cookie Recipe	Sugar Lemon Christmas Tree Cookies	Sugar Snowflake Cookies
Gluten Free Sugar Cookie Recipe	Crisp Sugar Drop Cookies	Santa Cookies
Sugar Cookie Stars	Sugar Cookie Bars	Reindeer Sugar Cookies

More Sugar Cookie Decorating Ideas

The best part about sugar cookie recipes is that they are so versatile. Most of these recipes are quite similar, it’s just the decoration and cutting that sets them apart. Here’s some great examples from Country Living, which gives 2 different slide shows of Christmas cookies all based on one sugar cookie recipe:

Superfestive Holiday Sugar Cookies

Country Living’s Best Cookie Recipes

For more Christmas fun, check out our Christmas kids activities page, our Christmas crafts, or our fun Christmas worksheets for homeschoolers and teachers!

Springerle Recipe	Glazed Anise Cookies	Fennel Blackberry Cookie Recipe
Pizzelle Cookies	Crisp Anise Cookies	Anise Star Cookies
Anise Pretzel Cookie Recipe	Anise Pepper Cookie Recipe	Anise Mandelbrot / Biscotti
Anise Drop Cookies	Anise Cut Outs – Bizcochitos	Anise Saviato Cookies

For more Christmas fun, check out these Christmas handprint crafts, Christmas animal coloring pages, or these Christmas word puzzles!