How Buckeyes Became A Staple Dessert For Ohio Natives

Ohio has birthed the airplane, the lightbulb, the automobile, rock and roll, and eight U.S. presidents. But at the end of the day, it isn't called "the Invention State" — Ohio is nicknamed "The Buckeye State." In good old O-H-I-O, the buckeye is a pretty big deal, and it's even inspired an eponymous regional dessert.

The buckeye dessert is inspired by and named after the nut of the same name that grows on Ohio's state tree: smooth and oblong with a shiny dark brown exterior and tan patch in the center. The dotted appearance is reminiscent of the large dark eyes of a male buck deer, hence the name "buckeye." The nut itself is not edible, but the Ohioan chocolate peanut butter balls it inspired are hard not to eat. To make our buckeye recipe, peanut butter balls are dipped in a layer of chocolate coating, a perfect no-bake dessert for serving at holiday parties or football tailgates. To assemble the rich, soft buckeyes, smooth peanut butter, vanilla, confectioners sugar, and butter get beaten together, rolled into balls, chilled in the freezer, dipped in melted chocolate, and chilled once more to set. 

Per the lore, buckeyes first hit the Ohio food scene in 1919 from The Buckeye Candy Company in Brooklyn, Ohio. The company's creative brain was three amateur home cooks (the wives of the company's owners), who found a fast fan base for their buckeye treats among Ohio football fans.

Ohioans put away an estimated 6 million pounds of buckeye treats each year, but the first-ever recorded mention of the term in relation to Ohio dates back centuries to when Colonel Ebeneezer Sproat was given the nickname in 1788 by the Indigenous peoples who attended the first court session of the Northwest Territory in Marietta. Sproat led the session, and at 6'4" with broad shoulders, he earned the nickname "hetuck" (the Shawnee word for buckeye) as a nod to how large even his eyeballs seemed. By the 1830s, Ohio locals (and the nut-producing state tree) were colloquially known as Buckeyes.

Today, the buckeye nut continues to be important not only as a nickname for Ohioans and the tasty peanut butter and chocolate treats but also for the famous Big Ten college football team located in Columbus, Ohio (a city with its share of great foodie spots). Ohio State University's mascot, Brutus Buckeye (created in 1965), is a giant buckeye nut head attached to a human body. 

Appropriately, while many superstitions are associated with sports like college football, there is also superstition surrounding the nut. Carrying around a buckeye is thought to bring good luck – and, judging by the wealth of famous innovators to come from Ohio (from Pulitzer Prize winner Toni Morrison to LeBron James, Neil Armstrong, Steven Speilberg, Macho Man Randy Savage, Screamin' Jay Hawkins, and more) it works. Word is still out on whether eating buckeye treats has the same effect, but it can't hurt.