Family Chow Hall

O Christmas Sweets

December 14th, 2005

It is time to enter my annual love/hate affair with holiday treats.

I love cooking them.
Eating them.
Giving them away.
Wowing party-goers with my amazing cookie-making ability

I hate the calories.
I hate what they do to any weight-loss progress I’ve made in the last year.
I hate the calories.
I hate how my kitchen looks for most of December.
And, most of all, I hate the calories.

However, tradition rules and I will continue to make and eat the Christmas sweets. Today I will make an Ohio traditional Christmas candy — Buckeyes. Ohio is indeed the Buckeye State, and although real buckeyes are not meant to be eaten, Ohioans (Ohioites? Ohioese?) have been making candy buckeyes for as long as I can remember. The recipe is simple:

Buckeyes

1 pound of peanut butter
1 pound of butter or margarine
3 pounds of powdered sugar
plenty of melting chocolate

Combine the first three ingredients and shape into buckeye-sized balls (bite-sized to you non-Ohioans.) Freeze on a cookie sheet. Melt chocolate over extremely low heat. You can add a tablespoon or two of shortening to help keep it from getting clumpy. Using a toothpick, dip each ball most of the way into the chocolate, leaving a small bare circle, so it resembles a true buckeye. Use your finger to cover the toothpick hole. Return to freezer or fridge to set.

Now, it’s been awhile since I’ve made buckeyes and I’m not sure how many this recipe makes, but it looks like quite a lot. My husband says to be prepared for a diabetic seizure if you eat too many of these. I have to give these to a friend who made some “Texas Trash” for us.

Entry Filed under: Cookies, Desserts, Holidays, Mixed bag, Philosophy, Recipes