BY KAELI FRAHN (’15)

Buckeyes (makes approximately 90 quarter-sized buckeyes)

Buckeyes are a perfect mixture of chocolate and peanut butter — a chocolate lover’s dream come true — and is sure to disappear from your holiday dessert platter in a flash.

You will need:

• 1 cup melted butter (margarine works fine)
• 2 cups peanut butter
• 3 cups confectioners’ sugar
• 1 – 12oz package of semi sweet chocolate chips
• ½ cake of paraffin (paraffin that comes 4 cakes in a box)

Procedure:

1. Mix together melted butter, peanut butter and confectioners sugar (with hands, mix in addition confectioners sugar until mixture can be worked without being sticky). Roll into ball and freeze over night.
2. Melt in double boiler semi sweet chocolate chips and paraffin
3. Remover peanut butter balls from the freezer. Stick with toothpick and dip into chocolate mixture. Put onto wax paper.
4. After removing the toothpick, smooth over the hole with finger. If desired, the Buckeyes can be returned to the freezer or left out.

Peanut Brittle

This is a wonderful peanut brittle recipe that is easy to make. Have all the ingredients for this recipe measured out and ready, as this recipe requires you react quickly.

You will need:

• 1 cup white sugar
• 1/3 cup light corn syrup
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ¼ cup water
• 1 cup peanuts
• 2 tablespoons butter, softened
• 1 teaspoon baking soda

Procedure:

1. Grease a large cookie sheet. Set aside.
2. In a heavy 2 quart saucepan, over medium heat, bring to a boil sugar, corn syrup, salt and water. Stir until sugar is dissolved. Stir in peanuts. Set candy thermometer in place and continue cooking. Stir frequently until temperature reaches 300F (150C), or until a small amount of mixture dropped into very cold water separates into hard and brittle threads.
3. Remove from heat; immediately stir in butter and baking soda; pour at once onto cookie sheet.
4. With 2 forks, lift and pull peanut mixture into rectangle about 14×12 inches.
5. Cool. Snap candy into pieces.

Old-Fashioned Peanut Butter Cookies (makes about 3 dozen cookies)

This delicious recipe will awaken memories of grandma’s kitchen and the aroma of her home-baked peanut butter cookies. These cookies are so easy to make that you’ll want to double, maybe even triple the recipe. The peanut butter cookies, topped with milk chocolate Hershey Kisses and served with a tall glass of cold milk, make for a perfect Christmas treat.

You will need:

• 1 ¼ cups unsifted all-purpose flour
• ¾ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ½ cup butter of margarine, softened
• Granulated sugar
• ½ cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
• ½ cup creamy peanut butter
• 1 large egg
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 dozen foil-wrapped milk chocolate Hershey Kisses

Procedure:

1. In a medium-sized bowl, using a wire whisk, gently stir the flour, baking soda and baking powder together. (this eliminates the need for sifting) Set flour mixture aside.
2. In large bowl of electric mixer, at high speed, beat the butter, ½ cup granulated sugar and the brown sugar together until mixture is light and fluffy. Add the peanut butter, egg and vanilla; beat until mixture is thoroughly combined.
3. Add flour mixture to peanut butter mixture one-fourth at a time, beating after each addition until mixture is thoroughly combined. Scrape dough from side of bowl; cover bowl and refrigerate dough 1 hour.
4. Preheat oven to 375F. Lightly grease three large baking sheets. Using hands, roll level tablespoonfuls of the dough into balls about 1 ¼ inches in diameter. Place the dough balls 3 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets.
5. Dip the tines of a fork into granulated sugar, then flatten dough balls crisscross style. Bake on baking sheet of cookies at a time on center rack in oven until cookies are slightly brown, about 8 minutes. Remove cookies from oven; unwrap chocolate drops and press one into center of each cookie. Let cookies set 2 minutes.
6. Using a metal spatula, carefully transfer cookies one at a time to wire racks to cool completely. Repeat until all the cookies have been baked. Store cookies in airtight containers.