Buckeye Brownie Bites

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Chocolate peanut butter happiness is created when buckeyes (aka peanut butter balls) are pressed into warm brownie bites and then drizzled with chocolate to create these Buckeye Brownies.

While few people can resist a homemade brownie, I don’t know anyone who would turn down one of these brownie bites.

Brownie Bites topped with Peanut Butter Balls

Buckeye Brownies

I made these treats last weekend to satisfy a sweet craving.

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For all of you non-Ohio natives, a buckeye is a poisonous nut from the buckeye tree and buckeye candies are peanut butter balls dipped in chocolate to resemble the nut.

Who could possibly resist a rich fudge brownie wrapped around a perfect bite of peanut butter buckeye?

My traditional buckeye candy recipe is one of the most popular recipes on my site and one of my favorites too. Here is a new twist for your to try.

How To Make Buckeye Brownies

To make Buckeye Brownies, bake a batch of brownies in mini muffin tins and then press a peanut butter ball on top while they’re still warm.

Drizzle with chocolate and you have a fun chocolate peanut butter treat. It’s less time commitment than dipping regular buckeyes too!

You can use any brownie recipe to make these. However, the recipe below is adapted from my Brownies Made With Cocoa Powder and it’s pretty darn perfect – if I say so myself.

Buckeye candy + fudgy brownies = pure dessert happiness

Buckeye Brownies Recipe

  1. Make the peanut butter balls first. Beat together the peanut butter, butter, and powdered sugar until smooth. If it is too dry and crumbly, add more peanut butter, if it’s too sticky, add more powdered sugar. roll into ¾ inch balls. Should make 36. Set aside
  2. To make the brownies bites, preheat the oven to 350 F. Grease 3 mini muffins pans well. Whisk together the oil, sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Beat in the cocoa, flour, salt, and baking powder. Divide batter into muffin tins, filling them 2/3 full. Should make 36 brownie bites
  3. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out with a few crumbs. Remove from the oven and immediately press a peanut butter ball into each bite. Let cool several minutes in the pan before moving to a wire rack to cool completely.
  4. To make the chocolate drizzle, add the melted butter, cocoa powder, corn syrup powdered sugar, and milk or cream to a microwave-safe bowl. Stir together and microwave for about 20 seconds. Stir again. Drizzle warm glaze over cooled brownie bites. The glaze will set when cooled.
Buckeye Brownies
Buckeye candy + fudgy brownies = pure dessert happiness

Buckeye Brownie Bites

4.39 from 21 votes
Chocolate peanut butter happiness is made when buckeyes (aka peanut butter balls) are pressed into warm brownie bites and drizzled with chocolate, this is a fun twist on a classic favorite.
Prep Time: 45 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Servings: 36 bites

Ingredients 

Peanut Butter Ball Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup peanut butter
  • 2 tablespoons butter softened
  • 3/4 cup powdered sugar

Brownie Ingredients

  • ½ cup vegetable oil
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1/3 cup cocoa powder
  • 1/2 cup all purpose flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking powder

Chocolate Drizzle Ingredients

  • 3 tablespoons butter melted
  • 3 tablespoons cocoa powder
  • 1 tablespoon corn syrup or honey
  • 1/2 cup powdered sugar
  • 1-2 tablespoons milk or cream

Instructions

  • Make the peanut butter balls first. Beat together the peanut butter, butter and powdered sugar until smooth. If it is too dry and crumbly, add more peanut butter, if it’s too sticky, add more powdered sugar. roll into ¾ inch balls. Should make 36. Set aside
  • To make the brownies bites, preheat oven to 350 F. Grease 3 mini muffins pans well. Whisk together the oil, sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Beat in the cocoa, flour, salt and baking powder. Divide batter into muffin tins, filling them 2/3 full. Should make 36 brownie bites
  • Bake for 15-20 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out with a few crumbs. Remove from the oven and immediately press a peanut butter ball into each bite. Let cool several minutes in the pan before moving to a wire rack to cool completely.
  • To make the chocolate drizzle, add the melted butter, cocoa powder, corn syrup powdered sugar and milk or cream to a microwave safe bowl. Stir together and microwave for about 20 seconds. Stir again. Drizzle warm glaze over cooled brownie bites. Glaze will set when cooled.

Nutrition

Serving: 1brownie · Calories: 120kcal · Carbohydrates: 13g · Protein: 2g · Fat: 7g · Saturated Fat: 2g · Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g · Cholesterol: 16mg · Sodium: 53mg · Sugar: 10g
Tried this recipe?Mention @chocolatewithgrace or tag #chocolatewithgrace!

Here are some other brownie bite recipes that sound delicious!

Texas Sheet Cake Bites from Life in the Lofthouse

Peanut Butter Cup Brownie Bites from Melanie Makes

And you all know my love of mint chocolate chip so here are Mint Chocolate Chip Brownie Bites from Shugary Sweets

And if you’re looking for other buckeye recipes, I have you covered.

Classic Buckeyes – Peanut Butter Balls

Peanut Butter Pretzel Buckeyes

Peanut Butter Pretzel Buckeyes | Salty Sweet Christmas treats perfect for christmas candy, cookie exchanges and swaps and just to eat year round.

Buckeye Brownie Bites

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  1. Kaydee says

    5 stars
    These are fantastic! I made them the other day and tonight I’m making them again as Christmas gifts for family. I’m not even ashamed to say that my boyfriend and I ate the entire first couple of batches in less than one day.

  2. KM says

    4 stars
    My brownie bites cooked up over the tops of the paper cups I used and then collapsed in the middle. They still tasted good, but I’m a terrible baker so I don’t know what that means. Any ideas?

    • Mallory says

      Yes. I’ve used a box mix with good results. You could do full size muffins, but they would be huge. Probably more than 1 person could eat.

  3. Denise Nastasia says

    Instead of making the glaze, could you just drizzle melted chocolate over the top? I’m not sure what the difference in taste would be, and just using melted chocolate sounds so much easier.

  4. Betsy M says

    5 stars
    These are the best brownie bite I have ever tasted! Very easy to make too. I was going to use a boxed brownie mix but decided to go with the recipe listed. Boy, am I glad I did! You have got to try these. I am getting married on Sept 4, 2021 and these are definitely going on the cookie table.

    • Mary says

      They should be good on the counter for a day or two, Amanda. I actually really like to eat them chilled, so often I store them in the fridge. They’ll keep a few extra days that way. Or, I freeze them (for up to 3 months) and just take out a few at a time.

  5. Carrie says

    5 stars
    These were delicious!! didn’t use the glaze–made ganache instead to top them. I couldn’t get 36 out of it though–32 was as far as I felt I could stretch it.

    • Mary says

      Carrie – Good to note. Everyone does things slightly differently so the anticipated number you should get can vary slightly.

  6. Beth says

    Recipes look fantastic and want an easy way to print. Wish you had a print option that didn’t require a download.

    • Mary says

      Hey Beth, there are no downloads required at ALL. If you’re seeing that, please screenshot it and send it to me. When you click the print button in the recipe card, it will simply open a fresh page with no ads or other content. It is a printable PDF that opens and nothing is downloaded this way.

  7. Mary Grace says

    Are you sipping the peanut butter balls in chocolate then putting into the brownie? Or, is it just the peanut butter ball?

  8. LAURA J STEVENS says

    2 stars
    Much difficulty getting them out of the pan. First batch, used cooking spray & thought that might be it. Second batch, used Crisco & short of spreading it on with a knife, it was very well coated. Same issue. Sad, cause these were supposed to be for church group & they are all in pieces. I’ll have to make something else.

    • Victoria says

      5 stars
      My first batch stuck with cooking spray too. However the next several batches I cooked a minute or two longer and also let them cook 15-20minutes before removing from the pan. I think allowing them to cool longer made all the difference! No issues with my next 4 batches 🙂

    • Mary says

      Hi Christine, if you click the handy “jump to recipe” button at the top of the post (or simply scroll to the bottom of the post) you’ll see the full printable recipe. Enjoy!

      • Terry C says

        5 stars
        In a previous reply to a reviewer you said to “avoid the fridge” but they could be frozen for a few weeks. I would think on the counter is okay. Just in an airtight container.

        Also I am confused by the term “mini” muffin pans. This is the size you would make cupcakes in OR the pans with 24 wells? To me THOSE are mini size…about one bite. BUT the the peanut butter balls would be the size of an actual peanut.

        Thank you for this yummy sounding recipe. I want to make it soon with my granddaughters when they visit next week👩‍🍳 I am rating ahead because I know they will be delicious!,

        • Mary says

          I use the pan with 24 wells in it and they definitely aren’t peanut-sized. (Unless you meant in the shell?) They’re about an inch in size.

  9. Shirley Klimek says

    4 stars
    I made these. Had trouble getting them out of the pans, even though I greased with Crisco. Half got broken. They did taste good. What did I do wrong?

    • Mary says

      It is a balance between letting them cool long enough and not letting them cool completely and making sure they are greased extremely well.

  10. Shelly says

    3 stars
    I spent time in the kitchen so excited to try these and Into could not get them out of well greased pana, so disappointed. The flavor is fantastic but half ended up in trash, will find a different recipe, sorry😔

    • Mary says

      This is a fairly standard brownie recipe base, Shelly. I can’t imagine why it wouldn’t have popped straight out of a well-greased pan. Did you grease the pan with butter or with cooking spray? How old is the pan you used? (Non-stick pans can lose their coating over time and actually make baked goods harder to remove than they normally would be.)

  11. Susan Foster says

    5 stars
    I thoroughly enjoyed making and sharing these. My advice would be to press a depression into the brownie with the bottom of a spoon and then put the peanut butter ball in. That avoids any finger prints in the peanut butter ball.

    • Mary says

      Great tip, Susan! Wearing gloves while baking is also a great option. I’m so glad you enjoyed making the brownie bites. Happy baking!

    • Mary says

      I’m sorry the recipe didn’t turn out well. I’ve never had any issue making these brownies. If you try making the recipe again, please let me know how they turn out!

  12. Cheri G says

    Question: Hello, every Christmas we make “boozy” bites for our cookie exchange. Do you think there is a way I could incorporate Skrewball peanut butter whisky into the recipe? I’m not a baker, so I’m not sure what I could take out or if I could just add. These look amazing and I’d love to make them for the cookie swap.

    • Mary says

      I’ve never tried that, Cheri. I’m not sure how that might work. If you manage to find a way to make it work in the recipe, please let me know how it turns out! Enjoy the brownie bites, and happy baking.

  13. Amber says

    5 stars
    These sound DELICIOUS!!!! I love peanut butter and chocolate but not everyone does. Im making them for a party and will do half with peanut butter and the other half with nutella in place of peanut butter. Im sure they will be amazing for those of who dont like peanut butter. Thanks for sharing this amazing recipe!

    • Mary says

      You are welcome, Amber. I hope everyone loves the brownie bites; making a half-and-half batch is a great idea. Happy baking!

  14. E.S. says

    I’m sorry, this was a disaster from the start. The PB ball mix was so dry and crumbly with the first measurements it wouldn’t even come together. After adding a little more PB it was too smooth so I added some powdered sugar and I never could get it to a rollable consistency so I gave up and planned to put a scoop on top of each one. But then I had the exact same issue as other reviews, when they came out of the oven the brownies were glued to the pan after using cooking spray. I waited until they cooled and it was actually harder to dig them out. I wasted my entire Thanksgiving morning on these and now have to try and assemble some type of dessert out of crumbled brownies and a PB cream.

  15. E.S. says

    5 stars
    Okay, even though these turned into a totally different dessert, it turned out great and tastes just like a buckeye! After a disastrous attempt with the first batch of mini-brownies, I poured the remaining brownie batter in an 8×8 pan and baked it. When it cooled I spread the PB “frosting” on top, then poured the drizzle over it. We taste tested it using the crumbled mini brownies and everything together tastes amazing! I guess the lesson is, calm down and a long as it all tastes good in the end its a win!

    • Mary says

      I’m glad they were delicious. Did you grease the mini muffin pans really well? I’m not sure why they would’ve stuck like that. Does your muffin pan typically release easily?

  16. Dana says

    5 stars
    Made these buckeye brownie bites to take to friends todsy. They were a huge hit! My favorite food group is peanut butter and chocolate! Thank you for a great recipe!!!!

    • Mary says

      I’m thrilled to hear how much you all enjoyed the brownie bites, Dana! Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment and tell me.

  17. KarenR says

    My pans are non-stick, plus I sprayed them generously with oil spray. They normally release easily. The peanut butter ball portion and glaze was perfect as written and they taste amazing. Think I’ll use brownie mix next time because they are really, really tasty.