Sustainable Pin: Buckeye Bark

I'm not sure how sustainable any project is the week before Christmas, you know?  I mean, if you were going to hand-make all of your gifts, you would have done so already.  If you were going to grow and preserve your own edibles for the feast, in most parts of the country you would have been done with that task months ago.  If you are working on things now (as I am), you are trying to get some holiday treats together without going insane while you try to prep for two three-day work weeks in a row coming up.  (Three-day work weeks just wreak havoc with a freelancer's schedule, but that's OK.)

So, this week, it seemed like a good time to try out one of the many, many, peanut-butter-and-chocolate-themed recipes I've pinned to Pinterest.  This one is Buckeye Bark from Live Sigma Kappa.  Go ahead, take a look at the original recipe on that site.

I have to say, this is a pretty great little recipe.  It comes together much faster than traditional buckeyes, which require rolling the peanut butter balls and then hand-dipping them in chocolate.  This peanut butter center seems to stay a bit softer than some buckeys, but that might have been due to the peanut butter I chose.  I purposely bought a very creamy brand, but I think if I used my usual somewhat-gritty "natural" brand, I might have come out a bit closer to the center of a Reeses Cup.  That said, this center mixture would make an amazing peanut butter frosting on a homemade chocolate cake.....

One warning:  This bark splits into fairly big chunks, or at least it did for me.  That, and the fact that the peanut butter doesn't really adhere the two big chocolate slabs together indelibly, and you have a treat that can get a bit crumbly and require some finger-licking.  I don't think that's a problem, but you might not want to serve this at your swankiest holiday party.

The Analysis

Fast:  Much faster than traditional buckeyes, with the same good taste.  I'd say you can whip this up in about an hour, counting the numerous trips to the freezer for hardening in between layers.  (Although maybe more patience than I have is a virtue.)

Cheap:  I can't say that this is any cheaper than the traditional recipe, but it is certainly cheaper than buying all of your candy from a gourmet store.

Good:  Oh, my heavens.  I think I gain weight every time I look at the picture of this stuff.  I can't imagine anything nicer than making some of this for my family; this might be a really good time to make up a batch of this decadence, and then let those you love lick the bowl when you're done.