What Is a Buckeye?

“Buckeye” is a term that has come to reference several things over the past few centuries. However, the buck starts here: With a small, glossy, dark brown nut bearing an oval-shaped tan blotch, the buckeye, legend has it, earned its name for its resemblance to a deer’s eye. The seasonal yield of Ohio’s official state tree (Aesculus glabra, for all you plant taxonomists), these nuts, roughly the size of a golf ball, grow encased in a dry and leathery shell with small, spiked ridges. 

Legend also has it that carrying one of these nuts on your person can bring good fortune your way, although consuming this type of buckeye is decidedly unlucky. That’s because, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, both the nut and its shell contain toxic compounds such as aesculin that can poison both animals and humans when consumed raw. (There is, however, an extremely eatable treat called a buckeye — but that dessert comes after our history lesson.)

The term “buckeye” also serves as a nickname for residents of Ohio. This traces to 1788, when high-ranking Ohio military colonel Ebenezer Sproat was referred to by Native Americans at a Northwest Territory meeting as “Hetuck” (their term for the buckeye nut) due to his stout build and robust manner. Sproat bore the name proudly, word spread as he traveled, and by the mid-1800s, writers nationwide were referring to Ohioans as buckeyes.

In 1840, the nickname was enshrined in American history when supporters of President William Henry Harrison (a former Ohio state representative and senator) began to distribute campaign souvenirs whittled from buckeye wood. In the years that followed, the moniker found its way into many Ohio-based company and group titles, including that of The Ohio State University, who officially adopted a man in a buckeye costume as its mascot in 1950. His name is Brutus.

While these all are fine tales for history class and trivia night at your local watering hole, the buckeye the average citizen cares about most is the bite-sized, no-bake confection kind, named such only for its resemblance to the nut. Made of creamy peanut butter, powdered sugar, and butter blended to a doughy consistency, rolled into a ball and dipped into melted chocolate, the end result leaves a small circle of the peanutty dough exposed, giving it the look of a buckeye.

In one of the best buckeye-related moves since Mother Nature first sprouted the tree, Cheryl’s Cookies has cooked up a frosted buckeye brownie, true to the time-honored taste of the original peanut buttery snack, complemented here with notes of chocolate liquor.

The rich dessert features a traditional chewy brownie base stuffed with peanut butter chips coated in chocolate (tiny stand-ins for the namesake treat). And to literally ice the deal, a luscious peanut buttercream topping holds loads of mini peanut butter cups in place.