By MaryFran Stransky, NNL Social Media
Revisiting some of the recipes featured in the Nodaway News Leader over the years brought me to a wonderful article published on December 12, 2019. It showcased Christmas candy recipes from Sharon Espey of Barnard.
Sharon had been crafting candies for over 20 years, generously sharing most of her creations with family and close friends. Her favorite treat to make was chocolate-covered cherries, followed closely by turtles. However, my family always favored her chocolate-covered peanut butter balls. In fact, we sometimes preferred them without the chocolate -- a simple tweak that never failed to please!
We'd love to hear from readers who've treasured and used recipes from the NNL over the years. If you've saved a recipe and made it your own, let us know! Snap a picture of your culinary masterpiece, copy the recipe, and proudly "Say You Saw It in the NNL."
Sharon's Peanut Butter Balls
Ingredients:
2 cups creamy peanut butter 1/2 cup butter 4 cups confectioners' sugar 3 cups crisp rice cereal 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
Instructions:
Melt the peanut butter and butter in a saucepan over low heat. In a large bowl, combine the crisp rice cereal and confectioners' sugar. Mix well. Pour the melted peanut butter and butter over the cereal and sugar mixture. Blend thoroughly. Form the mixture into balls about 1 inch in diameter (or smaller, if preferred). Place the balls on cookie sheets and chill in the refrigerator until firm. Melt the chocolate chips in a double boiler, keeping them melted as you work. Use a teaspoon to dip the balls into the chocolate, coating them completely. Place the dipped balls back on the cookie sheets. Once all are coated, return them to the refrigerator until firm.