Carrying on a Christmas Candy Making tradition and the best buckeye recipe

Everyone has that person in their life who they will always hold nearest and dearest to their heart no matter what. For me that is my grandma. She is no longer with us, but I think about her every single day. So many of the traditions I hold with my family are because of her, and so many of my values were formed from her impact on my life.

I don’t really remember exactly when we got so close. When I was little, she lived about 30 minutes away and my most visible memories are going to her house on holidays and running crazy with my cousins. As I got older my grandma was the one who was best at comforting me when I was sad, or even when I was just being an emotional teenager. She just always seemed to understand and make me feel like life would be ok. In my later teenage years, I visited her a lot more, and my favorite thing was getting to know her better. I loved hearing her stories of growing up, and living life in another time. One day we discovered that we both had a love for spinach dip and looked up a recipe to make it from scratch. From that point on I think she made it every time I came over.

In the year 2008 I graduated from college and was trying to find out what I was going to do next with my life. During this time my grandpa passed away, and without even thinking I went home from the hospital that night with my grandma and didn’t leave for an entire year (one month after I got married). I cannot even begin to explain that year, but I know that the memories I made will never be forgotten. As I grew into adulthood Grandma continued to be my biggest cheerleader, and every time I was with her, she made me feel like I was the best mom and was doing a good job. That is the kind of person she was.

At some point (I don’t remember the exact year) I started going over there before Christmas to help her clean her house and of course make candy. This became a long-standing tradition until her last year with us. We would spend hours making countless buckeyes, chocolate covered pretzels and nuts, and then when that was finished, she would start throwing in anything else she had that would be good in chocolate (graham crackers, marshmallows, etc.). Eventually through the years we were joined by my daughter Alex, and one year even baby Hazel.

Now, and every year since then, my daughters and I continue the candy making tradition. Each year they become more and more helpful too. This year I felt like all I was doing was melting more chocolate for them.

This year we made buckeyes, chocolate pretzels, marshmallows (the girl’s favorite), nut clusters, graham crackers, and Oreo peppermint bark.

Another thing that we added to the traditions years ago was making caramels. My husband grandma was known for her caramels, and with her recipe we continue to keep that tradition alive as well.

I know that Grandma is looking down on me and my family with love, and this tradition keeps her alive in all of our hearts. I think about and miss her almost every day, but I am so glad that I made so many memories with her that she is still everywhere I look. I know that my kids and I will continue this tradition year after year and maybe someday I will even teach my grandkids to dip buckeyes.