Peanut Butter Balls

Christmas exploded at my house.

I have an explanation for this...we eat a lot of peanut butter?

That's what it looks like, anyway.

Or maybe I should say that Santa's workshop exploded at my house.

The irony is that we don't do Santa.

And I am thankful that my children did not spoil the truth about Santa for their friends and cousins that do do Santa.

This year, anyway.

I'm grateful for fun new things for myself and my children (I have discovered that new toys are as much a gift to the parents as they are the children-recipients).

But I'm simply not sure where to put everything.

So I'm in my basement, blogging, eating peanut butter balls, pretending that the disaster upstairs doesn't exist.

Hurricane Katrina's got nothin' on the Jones house.

PS.  If you've never had a peanut butter ball, do yourself a favor.  Make some.  They're better than Reese's cups.  Because there's more peanut butter in these, naturally.  And FYI, I buy peanut butter at Sam's.  Monthly.

Peanut Butter Balls
1 1/2 cups peanut butter
1 stick butter
1 lb powdered sugar (about 4 cups)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/4 bar paraffin wax

In the bowl of an electric mixer, blend together the peanut butter, butter, powdered sugar and vanilla.  Don't whip it - you don't want to incorporate air and make it fluffy - just mix until combined.  Form into small balls (about 2 tsp each) and roll until smooth.  Lay the balls on a sheet tray lined with parchment paper and refrigerate for about an hour.

Meanwhile, melt the chocolate chips with the paraffin wax in a double boiler (a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water).  Use a toothpick to dip the peanut butter balls into the chocolate, leaving a small round circle of peanut butter showing at the top (like a buckeye).  Return to the sheet tray and use the toothpick to smooth over the hole left by the toothpick.  Cool until the chocolate is set.