Buckeye Pie has the same salty-sweet combination of peanut butter and rich chocolate as the candy but is simply served as a slice instead of rolled into a ball.
This quick and easy recipe makes a deliciously decadent 3-layered dessert, with a crunchy cookie crust, a smooth and creamy filling, and a ganache topping that only partially covers the middle to stay true to the traditional treat.
Best Buckeye Pie
This Buckeye Pie tastes just like my classic Buckeyes confection but in a bigger pie size. This simple recipe is based on the traditional Ohio state candy ball, yet this one is so much easier to make because it’s prepared in a single pie pan instead of individually scooping, rolling, and dipping each piece.
Since I’ve already created Buckeye Fudge, Buckeye Bars, and Buckeye Brownies, I couldn’t resist another recipe that revised my favorite flavored treat as a pie!
With a crust of crushed cookies, a filling of peanut butter combined with cream cheese, and a topping of chocolate ganache, this Buckeye Pie is the perfect dessert to feed your fans when tailgating or entertaining on game day.
Why We Love This Buckeye Pie Recipe
- Quick and easy to prepare.
- Simple ingredients recreate the classic Buckeye candy taste.
- What’s better than creamy peanut butter sandwiched between 2 layers of chocolate?
- All the flavor you love in a Buckeye ball, but made without the fuss.
- Time-saving dessert recipe when you don’t have time for individual dipping.
- Perfect sweet treat for potlucks, parties, tailgating, or serving with other football fare.
Ingredients
- Chocolate creme cookies: I used original Oreo cookies for this recipe.
- Unsalted butter
- Cream cheese
- Creamy peanut butter
- Powdered sugar
- Vanilla extract
- Heavy cream
- Semi-sweet chocolate baking bar
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Substitutions and Additions
- Tasty Toppings: Although it would be straying from the “traditional” buckeye candies, feel free to add some extra texture to your treats. Top your pie with chopped honey roasted peanuts, chocolate sprinkles, chopped candy, Reese’s Pieces, pretzel pieces, or flakey sea salt for a subtle saltiness. Make sure to add any toppings while the ganache is still soft so that they stick once your pie has been refrigerated.
- Chocolate Crust: Feel free to swap the Oreo cookie crumbs for chocolate graham crackers. You can also use a store-bought chocolate graham cracker crust, or even bake your favorite brownies for the bottom layer.
- Choose Your Chocolate: You can substitute a milk chocolate baking bar for the semi-sweet in this recipe or you can substitute 3 ounces of semi-sweet chocolate chips for the baking bars.
Recommended Tools
- 9-inch pie dish
- Stand mixer or handheld mixer
- Whisk
How to Make Buckeye Pie
Buckeye Pie is a tasty twist on the traditional candy, simply served as a slice instead of a ball. This easy peanut butter and chocolate-flavored recipe is filled with creamy, fluffy, and silky smooth layers that sit over a crunchy cookie crust.
- Make The Crust: Combine the cookie crumbs and melted butter and press the mixture into the bottom, and up the sides, of your pie dish. Bake at 350°F for 10 minutes and let cool.
- Prepare The Pie Filling: Beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add the peanut butter and the powdered sugar until no lumps remain. Add vanilla extract and heavy cream to the peanut butter mixture, and beat until smooth and creamy.
- Fill The Crust: Transfer the peanut butter filling to the cooled pie crust and smooth it out into an even layer. Set aside while you make the ganache topping.
- Make the Ganache: Microwave the remaining heavy cream, vanilla extract, and chocolate baking bar pieces until smooth.
- Spread The Topping: Spoon the chocolate ganache into the center of the pie and smooth it out into a circle in the center of the pie, leaving about a 1-1½ inch border where you can still see the peanut butter filling.
Pro Tip: Make sure you do not spread the ganache all the way to the edges of your buckeye pie. - Serve: Refrigerate your buckeye pie for 6 hours or up to overnight before slicing and serving. Enjoy!
Tips
- This pie is best served after it has fully chilled so that all the creamy filling and ganache sets properly and gives you cleaner slices.
- I like to use full-fat cream cheese when making this recipe, as the low-fat and fat-free varieties tend to have more liquid in them and can alter the texture of your pie filling.
- Make sure that your cream cheese is at room temperature so that it beats up nice and smooth without any lumps.
- If your Buckeye Pie has been refrigerated overnight, allow it to sit at room temperature for 15 minutes before slicing and serving. This will ensure cleaner slices as it allows the top ganache to soften slightly before trying to slice through it.
Storage Tips
- To Store: You can store your buckeye pie, covered in the refrigerator, for 5-7 days.
Frequently Asked Questions
Buckeye candy is made from peanut butter and covered (though not completely) in chocolate to look like a buckeye nut.
While similar to peanut butter balls, these candies are only partially coated in chocolate to resemble the tree nut. This small, shiny, dark brown nut with a light tan patch comes from the official state tree of Ohio, the buckeye tree.
You can place your cookies into a food processor and pulse them into fine crumbs or pulse them in a high-powered blender. You can even use a heavy-duty zip-top bag and a rolling pin to crush your cookies into fine crumbs.
I only tested this recipe using standard creamy peanut butter. I used the JIF brand for this recipe, but your favorite brand (even generic) will also work.
However, I do not suggest using the natural peanut butter that can be found widely in stores these days. They have too much liquid fat in them, so they typically do not work well with these types of recipes.
The liquids separate from the nut butter and create separation with the filling, resulting in a not-so-pleasant final result.
Yes, you can substitute a milk chocolate baking bar for the semi-sweet in this recipe. I would not suggest using a bittersweet or unsweetened variety, though.
Make sure to use a good-quality chocolate baking bar. They melt much easier and have more consistent results. I like using brands such as Ghirardelli, Lindt, or Baker’s, to name a few.
Yes, you can substitute 3 ounces of semi-sweet chocolate chips for the baking bars. Make sure you are using a good quality chocolate chip because they can be a bit temperamental when trying to heat in the microwave.
The chips have added ingredients to them that the bars do not, making them a little more sensitive to the microwave’s heat.
Other Easy Pie Recipes
- Kool-Aid Pie
- Jell-O Pie
- Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup Pie
- Strawberry Cool Whip Pie
- Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup Pie
- Mississippi Mud Pie
- Mini Key Lime Pie
- Crazy Crust Pie
- Butterfinger Pie
Buckeye Pie
Ingredients
- 26 chocolate creme cookies crushed into fine crumbs
- 5 tbsp unsalted butter melted
- 8 ounces cream cheese room temperature
- 1¾ cups (1 – 16 oz. container) creamy peanut butter
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract divided
- ⅓ cup + 4 tablespoons heavy cream divided
- 3 ounces semi-sweet chocolate baking bar broken into small pieces
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. You will need an 9-inch pie dish.
- In a medium mixing bowl, add the chocolate creme cookie crumbs and melted unsalted butter. Stir to coat all the cookie crumbs in the butter.
- Press the cookie crumbs into the bottom, and up the sides, of an 9-inch pie dish.
- Bake the crust for 10 minutes. Allow the baked crust to cool on the counter while making the peanut butter filling.
- To make the pie filling, add the cream cheese to a large mixing bowl and beat on medium-high speed for 30 seconds to 1 minute or until smooth.
- Add the creamy peanut butter to the beaten cream cheese and beat for an additional 1-2 minutes. You want a smooth cream cheese and peanut butter mixture.
- Add the powdered sugar 1 cup at a time, mixing on medium speed with each addition, to incorporate all the powdered sugar with no lumps remaining.
- Add 1 ½ teaspoons of the vanilla extract and ⅓ cup + 1 tablespoon of the heavy cream to the peanut butter mixture and beat on high for 1-2 minutes. You should have a smooth and creamy buckeye pie filling.
- Carefully transfer the peanut butter filling to the cooled pie crust and smooth it out into an even layer. Set aside while you make the ganache topping.
- In a microwave-safe mixing bowl, add the remaining 3 tablespoons heavy cream, ½ teaspoon vanilla extract, and the semi-sweet chocolate baking bar pieces. Heat on high for 30 seconds. Remove from the microwave and whisk until smooth.
- Spoon the chocolate ganache into the center of the pie and carefully smooth it out into a circle in the center of the pie. You do not want to spread it all the way to the edges of your buckeye pie. You will want to leave about a 1-1½ inch border where you can still see the peanut butter filling.
- Refrigerate your buckeye pie for 6 hours or up to overnight before slicing and serving.
Jenn’s Notes
- This pie is best served after it has fully chilled so that all the creamy filling and ganache sets properly and gives you cleaner slices.
- I used original Oreo cookies for this recipe and placed them into my food processor to pulse into fine crumbs. You can also use a high-powered blender or even a heavy-duty zip-top bag and a rolling pin to crush your cookies into fine crumbs.
- You can add an additional garnish of chopped honey roasted peanuts to the top of the pie after the chocolate ganache is added. Make sure to add the chopped peanuts while the ganache is still soft so that they stick once your pie has been refrigerated.
- Make sure that your cream cheese is room temperature so that it beats up nice and smooth without any lumps.
- I only tested this recipe using standard creamy peanut butter. I used the JIF brand for this recipe, but your favorite brand (even generic) will also work. However, I do not suggest using the natural peanut butter that can be found widely in stores these days. They have too much liquid fat in them, so they typically do not work well with these types of recipes. The liquids separate from the nut butter and create separation with the filling resulting in a not-so-pleasant final result.
- If your Buckeye Pie has been refrigerated overnight, allow it to allow it to sit at room-temperature for 15 minutes before slicing and serving. This will ensure cleaner slices as it allows the top ganache to soften slightly before trying to slice through it.
- I like to use full-fat cream cheese when making this recipe, as the low-fat and fat-free varieties tend to have more liquid in them and can alter the texture of your pie filling. You will also want to make sure that your cream cheese is room temperature so that it beats up nice and smooth without any lumps.
- You can substitute a milk chocolate baking bar for the semi-sweet in this recipe. I would not suggest using a bittersweet or unsweetened variety, though. Make sure to use a good-quality chocolate baking bar. They melt much easier and have more consistent results. I like using brands such as Ghirardelli, Lindt, or Baker’s, to name a few.
- You can substitute 3 ounces of semi-sweet chocolate chips for the baking bars. Again, make sure you are using a good quality chocolate chip because they can be a bit temperamental when trying to heat in the microwave. The chips have added ingredients to them that the bars do not, making them a little more sensitive to the microwave’s heat.
just need to know with the holidays can the buckeye pie be frozen.?
As a pie only 2 stars because it’s way too sweet. As a candy cut into 1 inch squares 3-4 stars.
sounds yummy
Can you use the candy coating chocolate instead
I can see the heavy cream in my filling ? Did I make it wrong ? Or should I have added more powdered sugar ??
My peanut butter filling is always a strange texture, even tho I follow the recipe and all tips. It’s never smooth-always looks oily. I use Jiff, full fat cream cheese, mix as directed. Any idea what the problem may be?
Maybe mix the room temperature cream cheese first, until smooth, then add the peanut butter?