buckeye balls

As a kid, we'd go to Grandma's and help make candy every year this time. She made all kinds of candy, tons of it, like grandmas do. Fudges, turtles, chocolate covered nut clusters, coconut mounds, and my favorite, peanut butter balls. Sadly she quit making candy before I got the shutter bug and she has passed away. I have no pictures of that tradition. I have all her recipes. I pull out her pans every year. I get teary eyed when I see all the score marks from each batch of fudge. I can master the fudge. But I tried making the peanut butter balls the year after she passed. They weren't the same.

A couple years ago I met Holly. I didn't know she had a little secret. Last year she brought over a tray of buckeyes. They looked suspiciously the same as my grandmothers peanut butter balls. She swore she'd never make them again (they are a bit time consuming) but my kids who were never able to have one of grandmas candy's fell in love with these and I was wallowing in memories. We kinda told her she wasn't getting off the hook and that we'd gratefully help. Today we spent the better part of the day 'cooking', talking and having lunch. Now, I haven't compared the ingredients but I think they are the same, although Holly has a different technique that I dare say might actually work better. And this time I have pictures!