Buckeyes, the Ohio Christmas candy
When I was a child, my dad’s family regularly had family reunions for all his siblings around Amish Christmas, (January 6). That was no small feat when you come from an Amish family. There were nine children in my dad’s family, and most of his siblings also had large families. I cannot begin to count how many cousins I have on that side of the family.
These events were always very memorable. Besides the shear number of people there, there was the language issue also. Everyone spoke Pennsylvania Dutch, except my mother, my siblings and I. They, of course, did know how to speak English, but unless they were talking directly to us, the conversation was in Dutch. A game of UNO was always begun; I would sit and play, mostly having no clue what the conversation at the table was about. Those reunions were kind of like visiting a foreign country.
Any Amish family gathering is also memorable for the food. There is always lots delicious made from scratch dishes. I particularly remember that at these Christmas gatherings there were always some extras that were not at other family gatherings. There were whole nuts, oranges and a variety of candies offered. My favorite, of course, were the candies, the buckeyes in particular.
Since my grandparents passed away, and all of my aunts and uncles have large families of their own with their children and grandchildren, we do not get together very often. I’m sure they are still making, buckeyes and playing UNO at their gatherings. Now, my children and I enjoy making and eating buckeyes at the holidays. Some family traditions should be continued.
Buckeyes recipe
Can you have a Christmas without buckeyes? I don’t think so, especially in Ohio. After all the buckeye is the state tree. You can’t eat the nuts from the tree, but you can make one of the yummiest candies out there look like the nut from the Buckeye tree.
This is my favorite recipe for buckeyes.
Ingredients
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Procedure
- Mix sugar and peanut butter until the mix does not stick to your hands.
- Roll the mixture into balls about the size of a buckeye.
- Slowly melt coating chocolate -dark, light or white are good- in a double boiler, or with a microwave.
- Dip the peanut butter balls into the chocolate using a toothpick to hold them. Dip only about ¾ of the way so that some of the peanut butter remains exposed.
- Set on wax paper to cool. You can put them in the freezer or refrigerator to cool quicker.
Servings: 16
Nutrition factsServing size: 1 serving
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Cooking Tips
You really can start with any amount of peanut butter, just mix in enough powdered sugar so that the peanut butter doesn’t stick to your hands.
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