Buckeyes

These chocolate covered peanut butter balls will vanish in far less time than they take to make. We could hardly protect them long enough to take the photograph. Kids have as much fun making them as eating them. In our house, the holidays are not complete without buckeyes.

Filling:
11/2 lbs. powdered sugar (almost 6 Cups)
1/2 lb. room temperature butter or margarine (2 sticks)
1 lb. creamy peanut butter (2 Cups)
1 TB. vanilla extract
Coating:
12 oz. semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 slab paraffin wax (used by candy makers to make chocolate coatings shiny and smooth. It is available in the canning or baking section of most grocery stores)

Combine powdered sugar, butter, peanut butter, and vanilla extract in a large bowl. Mix well. Form the dough into small balls, about 1/2 inch in diameter. Put balls in a bowl and chill in the refrigerator for about 1 hour. You can also chill the dough, then roll it into small balls as you dip–your choice. To melt the chocolate, you can use a double boiler if you have one, but we’ve found that a small, heavy bottomed saucepan works just as well and is less troublesome. Cut the paraffin into small chunks, and place in the pan with the chocolate chips over the lowest heat. It will take a few minutes for anything to happen. Stir every minute or so with a wooden spoon. In the meantime, have a bunch of cookie sheets and several toothpicks ready. When the chips and paraffin have melted and have been smoothly stirred together, remove a large handful of chilled balls from the refrigerator. Don’t remove the whole bowl, as the dipping takes time. Poke a toothpick into the dough ball, far enough to hold it. Dip the ball into the chocolate and swirl it to coat it, about 3/4 of the way up. When working with children, remove the pot from the stove and place it on a hot pad on the table, stirring often. The chocolate may have to be warmed up a few times, but it is safer than having little children roughhousing over a pot on the stove. Place the dipped buckeye on a cookie sheet. When one cookie sheet is full, remove another bunch of balls from the refrigerator and start again. The buckeyes need to be frozen after dipping. Here in Wisconsin, you can place all the cookie trays on the porch. If you live in a warm climate, only work on as many trays as you have room for in the freezer. After the buckeyes are fully frozen (20 minutes in the freezer), carefully remove the buckeyes from the pan by sliding a spatula under them so the chocolate doesn’t stick. Rub out the toothpick hole on the top. Put the buckeyes into large zip-top freezer bags or cookie tins, and store in the freezer until you need them. Let the buckeyes come to room temperature before serving (though some people around here have been known to eat buckeyes by the handful straight from the freezer). While the freezer is best for longtime storage, buckeyes will do just fine as part of a cookie gift box, or left out for snacks.
Yield: 1 gazillion buckeyes (actually, about 300)
Prep. time: 1 hour

Aunty Syl’s Chocolate Sandies

Aunty Syl is a fabulous cook. We’ve all loved this recipe since we got it 25 years ago.

13/4 Cups flour, sifted
1 Cup pecans, chopped small
1 6 oz. pkg. chocolate chips - regular or mini 3/4 Cup butter
1/3 Cup powdered sugar, sifted
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 tsp. cold water
1/4 Cup powdered sugar for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 325°. Mix flour, nuts, and chocolate chips. In a separate bowl, cream butter, add sugar gradually and cream until fluffy. Add vanilla extract and water and mix. Gradually add flour mixture and blend well. Mold dough into balls, using 1 tsp. dough for each ball. Don’t worry if the dough is crumbly–add 1 extra tablespoon of water if you have a hard time making a ball. Bake on ungreased baking sheets at 325° for about 23 minutes. While cookies are warm, sprinkle with powdered sugar. Store in an airtight container.
Prep. time: 10 minutes
Yield: approximately 31/2 dozen
Baking time: 23 minutes per pan

Gingerbread People

These are a wonderful holiday tradition. Not only do they taste great, they make nice ornaments, too. Have the kids decorate a batch for their teachers, or take them as a hostess gift.

11/2 Cups molasses (regular or unsulphured)
1 Cup brown sugar, firmly packed
2/3 Cup cold water
1/3 Cup vegetable shortening
7 Cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground allspice
2 tsp. powdered ginger
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
Icing:
2 Cups powdered sugar
3-4 TB water

Mix the molasses, brown sugar, water, and shortening together in a large mixing bowl until well blended (a mixer works best for this step). In a separate bowl, sift the flour, baking soda, salt, and spices. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the molasses mixture. The dough will be stiff, so you may find it easier to mix by hand. Form into a ball, cover and refrigerate for 1 hour. Preheat oven to 350°. Roll the dough to 1/8 inch thickness on a floured surface. Cut out the dough with your favorite cookie cutters. Bake for 8-9 minutes (8 for smaller cookies, 9 for larger). Let cool before icing. To prepare icing, sift the powdered sugar into a bowl and add enough water to form a nice frosting consistency.
Prep. time: 15 minutes plus chilling time
Baking time: 8-9 minutes per batch
Yield: 101/2 dozen small cookies (21/2 x3 inches)

Lemon Bars

Lemon bars are a classic recipe. These are so light and tangy it would be easy to eat the whole pan yourself, but save some for your family and friends. This recipe makes a 9x13 pan, so there are plenty for sharing.

11/2 Cups all-purpose flour
2/3 Cup powdered sugar
pinch of salt
3/4 Cup cold butter (11/2 sticks)
3 eggs
11/2 Cups sugar
3 TB. all-purpose flour
1/3 Cup lemon juice (juice of 11/2 lemons)
1 tsp. dried minced lemon peel rehydrated in 2 tsp. water
powdered sugar for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 325°. In a medium bowl, mix the flour, powdered sugar, and salt. Cut the cold butter into 1/4 inch slices. Drop the butter into the flour mixture and rub together with your fingers until the mixture is crumbly. Press into an ungreased 9x13 pan and bake for 20 minutes. While the crust is baking, prepare the filling. Beat the eggs until foamy. Add the sugar, flour, lemon juice, and lemon peel. Beat until well combined. Remove the crust from the oven. Increase the oven temperature to 350°. Pour the filling over the crust and bake an additional 15 minutes. When cool, sprinkle with powdered sugar.
Prep. time: 15 minutes
Baking time: 35 minutes
Yield: 48-60 bars