this legacy of baked goods

This past Sunday, four of us gathered for the third Friendsgiving - the smallest group yet, but possibly the best Friendsgiving. (I mean, we went to the playground and had a snowball fight. You can't get much better than that, right? Exactly.) There was tofurky, mashed potatoes, green beans, a squash/cranberry dish with brown sugar, and pumpkin cheesecake. Not to mention the cookies and wine I brought because I was afraid the cheesecake didn't turn out. (It did.)



None of that is what I am here to talk about.

Yesterday I received in the mail a note from my grandmother, thanking me for thinking of them and sending a tin of baked goods. She mentioned that she doesn't herself bake so much anymore, and it struck me just how much things change. I never would have thought that I would be the one to carry on this legacy of baked goods, and yet here I am, baking and writing about it every week.



As I mentioned last week, I also gave bags of treats to my friends - because honestly, what was I going to do with all those cookies? Even if I wanted to eat all of them, they would have gone stale before I got to half of them. (Of course, despite this, I have made two additional batches of those cookies. They're so good.) These three friends all happened to be at Friendsgiving (funny, that) and maybe some mention of chocolate peanut butter cups came up.

Later, though, in discussing why on earth someone would have a thermometer for making taffy, I brought up the fact that it could be used for other candy-making endeavors, as well. This earned a "but who makes candy at home?"



To which I slowly raised my hand.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups
adapted from here

I didn't keep very good track of how many cups I was making, and so the peanut butter is what the original recipe calls for. I certainly did not measure out the peanut butter, rather just scooping it into the cups. Also, I went through a lot of peanut butter over the Thanksgiving holiday, making all these treats, so I really have no idea how much I used for these alone. Use your best judgment.

12 oz. milk chocolate chips
1/2 cup peanut butter

Melt the chocolate down - you can do this in a microwave, obviously, but since I lack that particular appliance, I used a bowl set over simmering water. Using a small spoon, or a tiny pastry brush if you have one, cover the insides of miniature baking cups. (Remember you will need the rest of the chocolate to seal the cups later. Don't use all of it now!) Place in the refridgerator to chill. Depending on the temperature of your fridge, this should take about 20 minutes.

Fill the now-firm cups with peanut butter and cover with the remaining chocolate. Place back in the fridge to chill - again, this should take around 20 minutes, depending on your fridge. The chocolate should be firm.