A holiday treat and a CD winner

And the winner is:
First let me announce the winner of the Sara Groves O Holy Night CD. As chosen by completely random integer generation, matched to the order of commenting, and a little birdie told me it was Erin! Congratulations! Just drop me an e-mail to [my name] at sbcglobal dot net and we'll talk delivery. Enjoy!

And the holiday treat is:
Every year during the holiday season, Mrs. Euphrony's family has a tradition of making peanut butter balls - a conglomeration of peanut butter and sugar all wrapped up in chocolate. And here's how you make them.

Ingredients:
40-oz peanut butter
2-lb powdered sugar
1-1/3 cup butter
24-oz chocolate chips (I like dark chocolate, Mrs. E likes semi-sweets, her grandmother likes milk chocolate)
½ bar paraffin wax
(This makes ~150 peanut butter balls. Adjust the amounts to how many you want.)



Allow the butter to soften. Mix it together with the peanut butter and powdered sugar. Allow the dough to cool, then roll into balls ~1” in diameter. (I lay them out on a cookie sheet covered with wax paper.) Freeze the dough balls before dipping in chocolate. If they are too warm/soft, they will fall apart when they are dipped in chocolate.

To melt the chocolate chips, you will want to use a dutch oven. If you don't own a dutch oven (like me) you can fake it by melting the chocolate chips and wax in a metal mixing bowl set on top of a pot of water that is at boiling. The indirect heat allows the chocolate to melt more smoothly and not freeze up. Also, make sure that no water gets into the chocolate, as it will cause the chocolate to seize as well. Any way, melt the wax and chocolate together. The wax will give the final balls a nice shine. (What, you didn't know that you eat wax in chocolate all the time?)


Dip dough balls in chocolate and place onto a cookie sheet covered in wax paper. Only put a couple in the chocolate at a time (they like to stick together). I use a pair of small tongs to pick them out of the chocolate. Refrigerate to allow chocolate to set. Don't store the peanut butter balls in an air-tight container, or the chocolate will discolor (not at all appetizing). The extra melted chocolate once your finished with the balls is excellent for making small chocolate candies and lollipops (bonus!).

Now, Mrs. E strongly resists this idea, but I've always wanted to roll something like a chocolate chip or marshmallow in the center of the dough balls. Feel free to do what you want, and enjoy!

Tags: Free Music, Sara Groves, Giveaway, Holiday treats, Peanut butter balls