A simple, but delicious treat that is perfect for gift giving!

When I was a kid, I used to think about how great it would be once I was all grown up and could make my own decisions about everything and eat all the dessert I desired.  (The dessert part was a key element in this thought process.)  Once I got older and moved out, I was sitting in my apartment one day and realized, “Hey, I can eat dessert whenever I want now!”  Despite that revelation, I continued to stick to my (overall) healthy habits, because I had come to realize that there were very good reasons why my parents limited the quantities of cookies and candy that I was allowed to consume as a child.

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To quote my husband Casey:  “When I was young, I couldn’t wait until I got older and could drink a whole gallon of chocolate milk by myself.  Then when I grew up, I realized that would be a very bad idea.”

I’m not exactly sure why I’m thinking about all of this right now.  Perhaps because it’s getting close to Christmas, and when I was a kid one of the most exciting things about Christmas was the fact that our house contained more candy and dessert than was typical.  Hey, I’m just being honest here.  We would wake up on Christmas to find candy in our stockings (or perhaps wrapped among the presents under the tree), and then we would go to one of my grandparents’ houses (either on Christmas or Christmas Eve) to be surrounded by even more dessert in all its sugary joy.

For the most part, I stick to healthy eating apart from dessert once a week and the typical holiday splurge.  Over the past week however, I’ve been filling my house with cookies and candy for gift giving, and I’m finding that just the process of baking and smelling so much sugary food has me experiencing a lower appetite than normal.  I wonder to myself how I managed to consume so much dessert at Christmastime as a kid, when now the sampling and baking of holiday dessert makes me not want to think about sugar for days.

Life was so simple when I was ten years old…

Ah, well.  Let’s end the contemplative thoughts and think about these Chocolate Peanut Butter Bon Bons instead, because (despite my decreased desire for sugar as an adult), I have really enjoyed baking sweet treats and giving them away as gifts this past week.  If a tin of baked goods will make someone’s day, then it makes me happy too.

This recipe is one from my aunt.  She had these bon bons on the menu one year when my family went up to visit for Christmas, and my mom and I were quick to ask for the recipe.  After I finished making them the other day, Casey gave one a try and quickly announced that they are now on his list of Christmas favorites.

I have to agree that they are pretty tasty.  What could go wrong with a rich combination of chocolate and peanut butter?  (Aside from eating too much that is.)

~K in the Kitchen