Today - July 23rd - is Peanut Butter and Chocolate Day

There are SO many ways to combine peanut butter and chocolate for truly enjoyable treats - whether you make cakes, cookies, candies, pies - all are wonderful for sure! So a special day to celebrate this tasty combo makes perfect sense. I'm going to share with you my family's favorite recipe for homemade peanut butter balls, but first, let's look at some fun facts for peanut butter and then chocolate - did you know . . .

• Archibutyrophobia (pronounced A’-ra-kid-bu-ti-ro-pho-bi-a) is the fear of getting peanut butter stuck to the roof of your mouth.
• It takes one acre of peanuts to make 30,000 peanut butter sandwiches.
• There’s a jar of peanut butter in 75 percent of the homes in America.

You will find more peanut butter fun facts at this link. Now for some chocolate fun facts - did you know . . .

• It is believed the first cacao bean (the bean used to make chocolate) was cultivated as far back as 1250 BC in Mexico, Central and South America.
• The cacao bean, from which dark chocolate and milk chocolate are derived, grow on the cacao tree. The tree is from the evergreen family, Malvaceae. 
• Cacao’s closest plant relatives in the Malvaceae family are okra and cotton.
• The melting point of chocolate is 93°F. This is unique because there are no other edible substances which melt as close to human body temperature.

You will find more chocolate fun facts at this link.

If you are looking for a peanut butter and chocolate recipe for a treat which is beyond enjoyable . . . these peanut-butter balls are for you! I made them for Dave 43 years ago and within a month and a half, he proposed to me! :^) Wonderful things happen when you make these peanut-butter balls for people! :^) 

Ingredients - 

• 1/2 cup softened butter
• 1 lb powdered sugar
• 2 cups peanut-butter
• 3 cups rice crispies cereal
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/4 cup solid shortening
• 1 package semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions -

• mix butter, sugar and peanut-butter then add the cereal and shape into 1 inch balls
• melt butter, shortening and chocolate chips, stirring so it is smooth - be careful not to overcook or scorch chocolate - a double boiler is very helpful in this step
• dip each peanut-butter ball into chocolate and set on waxed paper to set (I usually put them in the freezer at this point and then keep them in the freezer - they are particularly enjoyable frozen!)

This is another fun recipe to make with your grandchildren! Talk with them about how the peanut-butter balls are a sweet treat and share with them some of the sweet "treats" God has blessed your life. Lead them in praising God for His amazing goodness to us. Ask your grandchildren to think of someone you could "treat" with a gift of some of the peanut-butter balls. Help them make a box or bag to put them in and then take them to give a neighbor or shut-in (be sure they do not have a peanut allergy).