Buckeye Fudge has a creamy peanut butter fudge layer covered with a thick layer of chocolate. It’s the fudge version of my favorite candy to make for Christmas.
Making regular Buckeyes is time consuming. You have to roll out all those little balls, refrigerate them, dip them in chocolate, refrigerate them again. Not to mention how much effort is required to mix the butter, sugar, and peanut butter together to make the peanut butter balls.
This Buckeye Fudge is much less work. The peanut butter layer only takes about 5 minutes to make. Melt together some chocolate chips with sweetened condensed milk and a little butter, put it on top of the peanut butter layer and you just have to wait long enough for it to set up before eating.
Once ready to slice, you’ll have to give it away in a hurry or you won’t have any left to give away.
Peanut Butter and Chocolate – What’s not to love? It’s the greatest combo ever!
Try These Other Fudge Recipes:
- German Chocolate Fudge
- Rocky Road Fudge
- Butter Pecan Fudge
- Cookies and Cream Fudge
- Peanut Butter Fudge
Buckeye Fudge
Ingredients
Peanut Butter Layer
- 1 1/4 cups creamy peanut butter
- 1 1/4 cups butter, cut into 9 pieces
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 4 cups powdered sugar
Chocolate Layer
- 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1 cup sweetened condensed milk
- 2 1/2 tablespoons butter
Instructions
- Place peanut butter and butter pieces into a medium microwave safe bowl. Microwave on HIGH for 60 seconds. Stir. Microwave an additional 30 seconds. Stir until smooth.
- Stir in vanilla extract.
- Gradually whisk in powdered sugar.
- Pour into a lightly greased 9-inch square pan. Set aside.
- In another medium microwave-safe bowl, combine chocolate chips, sweetened condensed milk, and 2 1/2 tablespoons butter.
- Microwave on HIGH for 45 seconds. Stir. Microwave another 30 seconds. Whisk until smooth.
- Pour on top of peanut butter layer and use a rubber spatula to smooth it out. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours before cutting into squares.
Notes
It helps if you sift the powdered sugar to remove any lumps. Otherwise you will get a really good arm workout whisking the lumps out.
Nutrition
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Recipe adapted from Barefeet in the Kitchen
Can you use milk chocolate chips instead of semi sweet chocolate?
Yes.
Can you use crunchy peanut butter?
For anyone using margarine/spread instead of butter, try using considerably less than 1 1/4 cup. In my experience swapping one for the other, using a cup or more usually ends up making the fudge too greasy. I made this the other day, and only used a 1/2 cup margarine because I didn’t feel like running to the store for butter. It still came out delicious. I couldn’t get more than 2 cups powdered sugar in the PB mixture, though, despite sifting it before measuring.
My chocolate layer ended up being waaaay thicker than the PB half, but that’s because I used the full 14oz can of condensed milk instead of measuring out a cup. It’s tasty, but I end up scraping off some chocolate. If I make it again, I might only 1 cup chocolate chips and a tablespoon butter, because I want the chocolate as an icing of sorts so I can get more peanut butter flavor.
Help I need this for tomorrow! I followed exactly but the chocolate won’t set. Now that I am reading the comments, wondering if the sweetened condensed milk was confusing. I added a cup-8 ounces.
I had to freeze it for 20 min so I could cut it into squares. Any ideas as to how to set or dry out the chocolate icing top? I am thinking of scraping some off.
Other than that- the peanut better layer is perfect and the taste of both together is awesome
Peanut butter was crumbly. So I’m assuming it was to long in the microwave.. Don’t know what else would cause it. It taste delicious though.
could you add pecans to the chocolate part because i am making it 4 xmas 4 my husband and how much?
please answer right back.
Yes, I would use about 1/2 cup of chopped pecans.
This will be my 3rd Christmas making this fudge for the family! Everyone loves it!
Yay! Merry Christmas Kristin!
I think some people are confusing butter for margarine. The two are not the same. Margarine has a higher water content. It should not be substituted in candy recipes. I made this today. Loved the taste but the peanut butter layer did not hold together. I wish someone knew how to change that as I would like to make it again to add to treat plates, but not the way this looks even though it tastes great.
I’m going to try and reduce the amount of powdered sugar because mine didn’t hold together either
I have a recipe like this that will hold together.
A favorite every year!
I just made this exactly as the recipe calls for, I sure hope it comes out! The peanut butter mixture was very greasy before I put the chocolate mixture on. I just put in fridge, fingers crossed it turns out. It’s a lot of ingredients if not!
I made this and was very excited as things moved along nicely as directions said. The problem I ran into was the bottom was so crumbly, it never meshed together. My assumption was the hot chocolate part would ooze into it and form like a glue, but that never happened either. Both layers remained separate. So, when I cut through, the chocolate was one solid piece by itself and the peanut butter section was by itself all crumbly. Had intended to take it to a party, but this isn’t going to work this go around
What if you don’t have a microwave, can it be made stovetop?
This turned out delicious and was so easy!! I had run out of butter so I left it out of the top chocolate layer and it still turned out amazing. Yummy!!
That’s great to know Sarah!
Not a fan of this recipe!!! The peanut butter mixture was very crumbly, and I really didn’t like the chocolate top. I think it would be better with milk chocolate. Most of it went in the garbage. I really wanted to like this, though!
Other recipes have Graham cracker crumbs and it holds it together much better
Mine didn’t set 🙁 Super soft peanut butter layer
I just made this and my kids keep asking when can they eat it . Easy to make and looks great!
I just tried this recipe and have no idea how you all got 4 cups of confectioners sugar into the mixture. I barley got 2.5 in and my peanutbutter mixture was hard and crumbly. Hoping these turn out!
Make sure your confectioners sugar isn’t packed down when you measure it. I like to either fluff it up some in the box using a fork or spoon or I put it in a bowl and run a whisk through it before I measure it. Powdered sugar is so fine it can really get condensed over time and throw off the measurement.
The recipe calls for 1 cup of Sweetened Condensed milk ( 1 cup is 8oz.) The recipe says you will use almost the 14oz. can. 14 oz. is way more than a cup….. just wondering.
Hi Laura. It is true that 1 cup of water is 8 ounces, but sweetened condensed milk is much more dense and heavy than water thus 1 cup of it weighs more than 8 ounces.
Liquid measures are by volume, not weight. 8 Oz measure of water is the same as 8 Oz measure of sweetened condensed milk.
Just pour the contents of the14 oz can into a measuring cup. If it fills a one cup measure( 8) and a 2/3 cup measure(6 ) , then it’s 14 liquid measure ounces. If it doesn’t, then it’s 14 weight ounces. (7/8 lb.)
A 14-ounce can of sweetened condensed milk does not equal anything near 2 cups. You can tell just by looking at it. Much too small.
It’s actually about 1 1/4 cups.
A 14-ounce can of sweetened condensed milk equals about 1 1/4 cups.