The last snow of the..spring? Maybe? Hopefully?

Last year, it snowed on April Fool's day, and I thought J was playing a joke on me when he came and woke me up at 5 AM to tell me. This year was a little better, the last snow (I hope!!) was on March 29th. Sunday morning, K got to play in it a little bit before church. He would have liked to have a snowball fight, build a snowman, make angels, and the whole shebang... sorry kid. Running in circles will have to do this time. Luckily, I think he had just as much fun anyway.


OH! Look what I made! I had to snap this picture secretly, before I announced they were done, because they promptly disappeared afterwards.


You *have* to try this recipe. If you like Reeces peanut butter cups, you will love these! Maybe I am the only person who has never heard of these before. That wouldn't surprise me, I guess. Sometimes I am so excited to tell J the latest news on whatever, and he just finishes my sentence and says, "yeah yeah, I heard about that 2 weeks ago." Why does he always know everything first? What inside contact does he have, who is his source? He even knew about these Buckeye Balls, and when I made them, he said, "finally!! I have been wanting you to make these for like the past 10 years!!" Well, there's nothing like asking!!

On with the recipe! It is so easy, you can't go wrong with these. I have a very hard time with anything fancy, like fudge, candy, even frosting (yes, I consider frosting fancy... that's how bad I am). However, these were simple and look great too!

*Buckeye Balls*

INGREDIENTS

• 3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
• 3 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 tablespoon shortening

DIRECTIONS

1. Line a baking sheet with waxed paper; set aside.

2. In a medium bowl, mix peanut butter, butter, vanilla, and confectioners' sugar with hands to form a smooth stiff dough. Shape into balls using 2 teaspoons of dough for each ball. Place on prepared pan, and refrigerate.

3. Melt shortening and chocolate together in a metal bowl over a pan of lightly simmering water. (Or in the microwave for 15-30 seconds at a time.) Stir occasionally until smooth, and remove from heat.

4. Remove balls from refrigerator. Insert a wooden toothpick into a ball, and dip into melted chocolate. Return to wax paper, chocolate side down, and remove toothpick. Repeat with remaining balls. You can smooth over the toothpick hole with your finger, and you can't see it anymore. Refrigerate for 30 minutes to set.

Yum yum! That recipe made enough to cover 2 dinner plates - maybe 40? They are already gone! I think K has been sneaking them in the middle of the night, because I only let him have one or two a day. He thinks he deserves one every time he does something right -

"Can I have chocolate ball? I slept last night!"
"I want my chocolate now, I went potty!"
"Where is my chocolate? I didn't eat my buggers!!"
"I'm going to get my chocolate now, I drew a circle!"

And when I say, "sorry kiddo, no more," apparently it is the end of the world. So many disappointments, life is hard when you're 4 years old!