Remember my niece?  The 7 year old teenager who made me do the Running Man?  She’s awesome.  She came to stay with Mike and me by herself last weekend and we had a blast – we even cooked.

I don’t have kids yet, so Lily is really the first kid who I have watched grow and transform from a baby into a real person.  Suddenly we can have conversations about things other than cartoons and coloring and whatever else we talked about when she was four.  Over the weekend we talked about how sad it is when people abandon their dogs and how nice it is when people adopt them (we both have pound-puppies).  I took her to the farmers’ market and we talked about why the produce there tastes so much better than when we get it in the store. “Because it is so fresh!” she said.  Smart kid.  There are also those hilarious kid comments that remind me that she is, in fact, 7…

-  [While driving in DC, I pointed out some of the monuments… this happened next…] “I really like this place.  It is so easy to remember all the presidents here!”
- “You know that stinky truck smell?  I just love it!  I don’t know why, but I just love it!  It smells so good to me! I don’t know why!  I just love it!”
- And about 87 times after going to the zoo, “Aunt Shel, remember when that monkey peed?  That was hilaweeous*!” *”Hilarious” in 7 yr old speak

She’s a really nice kid.  Always willing to help.  Always eager to snuggle.  And always always laughing…often for no apparent reason. 

Over the summer she spent two weeks with my parents and went to camp; one of those weeks was spent at chocolate camp.  Yes, chocolate camp.  Why has she spent a week at chocolate camp already in her 7 years of life and I haven’t spent a single day at chocolate camp in my 30 years of life?  Because life isn’t fair, I guess. Wanting to live vicariously through this kid, I asked her lots of questions about chocolate camp.  She didn’t have many answers that didn’t include the words “something,” “stuff,” or “like.”  “My favorite thing we made were these chocolate circle somethings. They were like circles…and chocolate…I don’t remember.  But they were really good.”  Thanks for the help there, kiddo.  Maybe get more deets next time.  But she kept talking about the chocolate circle somethings.  “They were circles of chocolate…and something… we dipped the circles in the chocolate… and the circles…”  Ugh.  “…there was peanut butter something in the middle…”  Wait.  Peanut butter?  Did you make buckeyes?!  “Yes!  Buckeyes!  That’s what she called them!”  How did I manage to figure that out?  Who cares?  We’re making them, I told her.  Uncle Mike was going to be *very* happy about this project.

At any given moment those twins who played Ben Geller on Friends are on some tv show on Disney.  They are in multiple shows.  I don’t get it.  Anyway, Lily was completely absorbed in the Ben Gellers when it was time to get the buckeyes made.  So I made them.  Alone.  Woe is me. 

(Not entirely alone.  When it came time to roll them in the melted chocolate, she came running.  And when it came time to lick the bowl of chocolate, she and Uncle Mike grabbed a spoon.  Such great helpers.)

This recipe is pretty common, but I got it from a friend who made them for a super bowl party.  They are a great dessert for adults and kids alike.  For those of you who have kids, they are a perfect thing to have them make as they are no-bake and involve no knives.  For adults, they are divine.  Everyone loves buckeyes.

Buckeyes

- 1 1/2 cups peanut butter
- 1 cup butter, softened
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 6 cups confectioners’ sugar
- 4 cups semisweet chocolate chips

In a large bowl, mix together the peanut butter, butter, vanilla and confectioners’ sugar. The dough will look dry. Roll into 1 inch balls and place on a waxed paper-lined cookie sheet.

Press a toothpick into the top of each ball (to be used later as the handle for dipping) and chill in freezer until firm, about 30 minutes. (My freezer is totally full, so I put them in the fridge for a few hours.  Worked just fine.)

Melt chocolate chips in a double boiler or in a bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water. Stir frequently until smooth.

Dip frozen peanut butter balls in chocolate holding onto the toothpick. Leave a small portion of peanut butter showing at the top to make them look like Buckeyes. (I drizzled chocolate over the top.  I’ll be honest…I did this so that there wasn’t a ridiculous amount of chocolate left in that bowl.  I knew that whatever was left was going to be devoured by that kid.  Typically you don’t drizzle.)

Put them back on the cookie sheet and refrigerate until serving.