Some of my earliest childhood memories include those I spent on my Aunt Molly's lap, gazing into the shiny stones on her newly donned engagement ring.
Like my mom, my Aunt Molly was raised in a small country town outside of Rockford, Ill. When she graduated from the University of Illinois at 22, it wasn't long before she was engaged, married, and with children: creating a true nuclear household of one mom, one dad, one son, and one daughter.
Her husband, Doug, was also born and raised in a small rural community just outside of Bloomington, Ill. He played football in high school and in college, and for a short period he thought he would try his hand, more his foot as he was a kicker, in a semi-professional league. But with financial obligations, and two young kids to raise, Doug traded in his football jersey for a suit and tie, and built a four-bedroom house in a new subdivision in Lexington, Ill.
Molly makes the best buckeyes I have ever tasted. I am pretty sure she got the recipe from someone on Doug's side of the family, because as most people know, buckeyes get their name from the Buckeye nuts, that fall from the popular Ohio tree. They have also become the "unofficial candy" of Ohio State, and as far as I know, we've never had any family from Ohio.
I remember my first buckeye. It was at Christmas a few years back. Molly pointed them out to me amongst a spread of lavish holiday goodiesthere is never a shortage of food when it comes to my family get together. I held the glossy chocolate exterior in between my index and thumb, and inspected the peanut buttery center. Crunching into my first bite, the added snap, crackle, and pop from the Rice Krispies added a needed contrasted to the otherwise smooth consistency. Eating just one is nearly impossible, so Molly makes them especially pop-able, about an inch in diameter. As I discovered when making my first batch of Buckeyes, it takes skill to dip each peanut butter ball in chocolate without completely submerging it.
Every Christmas is now marked with a batch of Molly's buckeyes. Something in the simplicity reminds me of childhood, of sitting on my Aunt's lap, bobbing up and down, twirling her rings around her fingers.
Molly's divorce was finalized last month. She moved from her 4 bedroom, two-story home, into the first floor of a two-flat apartment. She bought a new car, new furniture, and only sees her kids every other weekor something like that.
This past Christmas, like every other, Molly made a large batch of Buckeyes, taking some to my mom's house for Christmas, and leaving the rest at home. A week later my mom told me, that when Molly returned home, the rest of the buckeye's were gone. Thinking about it for a while, I am almost sure that I am not the only one that is reminded of a simpler time when eating a buckeye.
Molly's buckeyes
3 cups of Rice Krispies, ground fine
1 lb. ( 3 1/2 cups ) Powdered Sugar
1 stick of butter
2 cups peanut butter
12 oz ( 1 bag ) of chocolate chips
1/4 stick paraffin wax ( optional )
Directions
1. Combine Rice Krispies and powdered sugar in a medium bowl.
2. In a small sauce pan melt the butter and peanut butter until smooth
3. Combine peanut butter mixture with Rice Krispies mixture until powdered sugar is dissolved and Rice Krispies are evenly distributed
4. Place bowl into refrigerator until malleable, about one hour.
5. On a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, roll peanut butter mixture into 1 inch balls and place back into the refrigerator until solid.
6. In a double boiler, temper chocolate chips until glossy and smooth. ( Add paraffin wax to regulate consistency. )
7. Using a toothpick spear each peanut butter ball and gently dip into chocolate, without completely submerging, and place back onto parchment paper until chocolate has hardened.