Ohio Buckeye Pie

Every Ohio child learns the buckeye's lesson early: that dark chocolate surrounding golden peanut butter, with one small circle left bare to mimic the nut of the state tree. The candy predates living memory in most families. Grandmothers taught mothers who taught daughters, each generation rolling those balls in December, dipping them just so, leaving the telltale eye exposed. The pie is a newer invention, born sometime in the 1980s when clever home bakers realized the combination deserved a format that could be sliced and served.

I first encountered this pie at a church supper outside Columbus, brought by a woman who had won three consecutive blue ribbons at the Pickaway County Fair. She used Oreo cookies in her crust, Jif peanut butter in her filling, and wouldn't dream of substituting fancy European chocolate for the Hershey's her family had used for generations. This was not a pie that apologized for being American. It celebrated the fact.

The technique requires no oven. You'll crush cookies, press them into a pan, whip the filling until it's light as clouds, and pour chocolate ganache over the top. The hardest part is waiting for it to set. Many Ohio households keep one in the freezer at all times, ready for unexpected guests or ordinary Tuesdays that need improving.