Nolstalgia

Okay, first off – right after I wrote my last blog, the weather did cool down. In fact, the newspaper said this morning that on Tuesday at 6am, the temperature dipped to 71 degrees – the coolest it’s been in the valley since JUNE 8! See why I was sooo depressed. But our mornings and evenings are so beautiful now. Anyway, had to clarify with hopes I didn’t scare those coming down to Arizona for Thanksgiving too badly.

Anyhow, back to the title of my blog. My sisters and I have been talking off and on (for YEARS) about this orange candy my mom used to make when we were all kids (this and peanut butter balls were a staple in our home). This topic came up again Saturday night when Katie was over and said she was craving it. We’ve tried asking my mom, but she can’t seem to remember what was in it. Saturday night, I googled the ingredients Katie and I could remember – which was only the orange juice concentrate and the powdered sugar and I stumbled across it – sorta. A version of it anyway. Well, yesterday I made it and YEP, it tasted just the same as I remembered as kid, so I thought I’d share the recipe with you….and no, it’s not figure friendly – inspite of my husband’s comment when he tasted it…”this taste healthy!” I had to correct him on that one, quickly before he wolfed down 5 more. Not that he could, WARNING: They are very rich. Oh, also, all of the recipes I found have crushed vanilla wafers in it – and the ones we grew up with didn’t. I’m sure we just couldn’t afford the wafers so mom omitted them – I’ll have to ask her about that. I did, however, make them with the vanilla wafers and it added an interesting texture… more cookie like than candy. And all of my food critics loved it – except for Emi who thought they were too sweet. And I did take some over to the Urie family – but not sure how they like them yet. And Katie, I have some in my fridge waiting for you!!

Orange Balls

1 12 oz box of vanilla wafers
4 cups powdered sugar
½ butter, softened
1 (6 oz) can frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed – or buy a 12 oz and divide it in half.

Crush vanilla wafers to make fine crumbs. This works best when using a food processor. Or if you’re like me, put them in a gallon size ziplock bag and beat the begeebers out of them with a rolling pin. Add sugar, butter, orange juice concentrate. Mix well.

Shape into small balls and refrigerate at least 1 hour. They will become more firm as they are refrigerated.
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Peanut Butter Balls

1 cup peanut butter
1 cup honey
1 ½ cups dry powdered milk
In a medium bowl, stir together the peanut butter and honey. Add the powdered milk and mix until well blended. Roll into walnut sized balls and serve.