Broke Butt Basics: Old Fashioned Peanut Butter Candy

The holiday season is creeping up on us, y'all, and one of the things us Southern gals are known for is our yummy treats and hospitality. I'm going to show you a treat today that is a cheap little whip up of a thing that might take all of about 30 minutes to fix. Since every bit of this ought to be in your pantry and fridge, it is perfect for those times when you get a last minute notice that guests are stopping by for a chat... Or you have to go to some sort of gathering where everyone is bringing along some food to share. These will be bragged on, gone in a flash, and make everyone think you are some kind of old-time fancy cook. But we know the truth. Just don't tell 'em how easy it was.

Let's make some Old-Fashioned Peanut Butter Candy!

This is what you need:

• 3 3/4 cups (plus some, just in case) Confectioner's sugar (The 1 lb. box equals 3 3/4 cups.)
• 7 teaspoons Milk
• 6 tablespoons Butter (room temperature... if you don't have time to wait, just toss it in the microwave for 10 seconds.)
• Peanut Butter for spreading
• Butter knife, waxed paper, roller, mixer, and a large mixing bowl

Seriously. That is ALL you need. I told you this was easy!
First, you dump out all of the sugar and the butter into your mixing bowl. Then, you blend it all together until there are no noticeable lumps of butter.

Next, add in the milk... 1 teaspoon at a time... blending well after each addition.

You want to stop adding milk (even if you haven't used all 7 teaspoons) one the mixture starts pulling away from the sides of the bowl and tries to form a ball. Be careful not to do the idiot thing I did and accidentally spill a little extra milk in. You will make the mixture too sticky, like the picture below. Don't panic if it happens, though. That is the reason I told you to grab a little extra sugar, just in case. Just toss little handfuls of sugar in until you get back to that ball forming stage. Not too dry or too gloopy. Anyway, when you can form the mixture into a nice, soft little ball without it sticking to your hands very much, you are good to go.

(Yeah. Don't do that.)

Rip off a piece of waxed paper about the length of your arm and place it on the counter. Plop your ball of yum in the center, and roll it out into a long rectangle-ish that is around 1/4 inch thick. Go even thinner if you feel brave. I ain't stopping you. 

Just remember, always roll out in one direction only. Don't do the back and forth thing. It grabs the dough and usually rips it. And, let the weight of the pin itself do the work. Pressing down will give you weird lumpy bumps. 

(Oh! And if you don't have a rolling pin, just use a straight sided glass. No biggie. But, I do recommend you go get one soon. They are great to have around.)

Now that you've got this all ready to go, take a butter knife and, using the back side, cut the dough in half along its length, and spread both sides with peanut butter. Go all the way to both ends, but not all the way to the sides.

When you are finished with that, pop it in the fridge for around 15 minutes, if you have time. This step firms up the butter and helps it roll up a little easier. If you don't have time, skip it. Just practice a little patience when you roll, and it will turn out fine. 

(Mine went in the fridge. Don't judge.)

Now we are ready to roll. Deep breaths, people. This ain't scary. 

Check out the pictures.

Start by lifting up the side of the wax paper and turning over the dough in little increments. You want a good swirl, so (without squeezing) make sure that you are getting a nice, even roll. Go slow and steady. Stop at the cut. It's like peanut butter sushi! That is roll #1.

Turn the waxed paper and do the same thing on roll #2. 

Then cut each roll with your butter knife in 1/2 inch pieces. 

Your ends won't be as pretty as the center ones, but it is "old-fashioned" and handmade... It shouldn't be perfect. Perfect is store-bought and weird. We are better than that. This is like the hipster of candy. It doesn't do conformity. It was candy before candy went mainstream. Gracious. Moving on...

Aren't they lovely? And, I promise, they taste better than they look. I hope you all will give these babies a try sometime soon. Shoot me a note if you do! And, remember... Mama loves ya!