Easy Peanut Butter Candy Recipes for the Holidays

The holidays mean lights and decorations and toys and gifts. They also mean lots of good things to eat. You do not have to be a baker to be able to make either of these great peanut butter treats. (I definitely do not bake, and even I can make these!) Serve these at your holiday party or make up some to place in decorative tins to give as gifts. These recipes were passed on to my daughter, the dessert specialist of the family, by her great-grandmother and have been enjoyed by everyone in our family for years.

Great Grandma's Peanut Butter Candy

Ingredients:
2 cups sugar
3 tablespoons butter
1 cup evaporated milk
1 cup mini marshmallows
12 ounces (1½ cups) peanut butter (crunchy or creamy)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Butter either an 8-inch or 12-inch cake pan, depending upon how thick you want your peanut butter candy. Mix the sugar, milk, and butter in a 2-quart saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Allow to boil for 5 minutes and then remove from heat. Add the marshmallows, peanut butter, and vanilla. Stir until all the ingredients are melted and the mixture is smooth. Immediately pour into the cake pan and allow to set. Cut into the desired number of squares.
Makes about 40 1-2-inch squares.

Peanut Butter Balls Dipped in Chocolate

Ingredients:
1½ pounds powdered sugar
1 pound creamy peanut butter
2 sticks melted butter

Mix all of the ingredients together. The mixture will be crumbly. Roll into the desired size balls, about ½ inch. Place in refrigerator while you proceed to make the chocolate dip.

Chocolate Dip ingredients:
1 large bag chocolate chips morsels
½ bar paraffin wax

Melt the chocolate chip morsels and wax in a double boiler. Remove the peanut butter balls from the refrigerator and dip them one-by-one into the chocolate. (Using a toothpick to hold the peanut butter balls seems to work best.) Set the chocolate-dipped peanut butter balls on wax paper and allow to harden.
Makes about 80.