As a food blogger (and a crazy lady) I am always looking for fun things to make. These Buckeye Chocolate Crunch Bites fit that bill! They are inspired by a fellow food blogger Half Baked Harvest and came together really easy. I did change a few things (as always) to make them not as peanut butter overwhelming and I am probably going to tweak this recipe a little more in the future to come up with a variation with more chocolate (LOL) for all the chocolate obsessed people out there (me included).
I made these Buckeye Chocolate Crunch Bites as a bar for a dessert party and quickly modified them into bites instead because of the amount of peanut butter richness. I then took the ice-cold bits and used them to top vanilla ice cream. WOW! The combination of vanilla ice cream with these guys stirred in was heavenly. This just goes to show you that sometimes revising the original plan turns out better than the original which is why going with the flow is so important.
| PREP: 10 minutes | COOK: No Bake | Yield: Depends on how you cut it. ½ a cookie sheet full. |
Ingredients:
- 1 stick melted butter
- 1 ¾ cup peanut butter + 1 Tablespoon for later
- 3 cups of powdered sugar
- 1 cup of chocolate chips
- 2 cups of crushed pretzels
- 2 Heath toffee bars
Instructions:
- Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- In a mixing bowl (I use a stand mixer), combine the butter, 1 ¾ cups peanut butter, and the powdered sugar.
- Spread the mixture on the parchment paper. I used a rolling pin and parchment paper to spread evenly.
NOTE: I found that you need to spread it thin so the peanut butter richness isn’t too much.
- Place sheet in a freezer or fridge while you continue the instructions.
- Chop or crush the pretzels and the Heath Toffee bars. (You can use any candy bars you thing with go well with peanut butter and chocolate)
- Melt the chocolate chips with the additional 1 TBS of peanut butter in a microwave. I melt for 45 seconds, stir, melt for 45 seconds, stir… until I get a smooth consistency.
- Remove the cookie sheet for the cold, and spread the chocolate on top.
- Immediately pour the candy and pretzels on top and press into the chocolate.
- Place back into the freezer (or refrigerator) until ready to cut and serve.
As I mentioned, the peanut butter was very rich which Half Baked Harvest had also mentioned. She fixed this by not using as much powdered sugar in the peanut butter mixture. My fix was making the peanut butter layer thinner, making the servings bite-size, and then ultimately serving it as an ice cream topping. You should try it out and see how you like it!
Enjoy!
Maurie Kay
