“Hey, Ma!”

“Yes, Deb?”

“Where’d you put the treats?”

“Well,” she chuckled. “It was right there on the counter.”
“This? This is an empty container! Who took the peanut butter cups?”

I stifled a giggle as I hid underneath the kitchen table with a good handful of peanut butter cups resting on my lap. Just five years old, I was able to hide perfectly underneath the kitchen table with the cloth draped over me so no one could see me.

Suddenly, the tablecloth swooped up and there was my great-grandmother, Willa. I was stunned into silence as I proceeded to lick my chocolate covered fingers while she laughed, shaking her head.

I was forced to give up what was left from what I stole and put them back in the tiny container and wash my hands. I feel a pat on my head as I walk out of the bathroom.

“Oh, little Ella.” Willa sighed. “I’ll remember to bring more for you next time.” She winked and went back to the kitchen to take out the meatloaf from the oven.

***

I greeted my great-grandma Willa at the door, holding three metal Christmas-decorated containers.

“What’s in there?”

“Well, one is full of my famous peanut butter cups, some more food for the meal, and another is filled with a treat I thought everyone might like.”

After filling her in on my middle school life on our way to the kitchen, she placed the containers down on the table and opened one up. She revealed a new chocolate treat that I had never seen before.

I take one and have a bite. My eyes lit up as I went for another but Grandma Deb stopped me: “Don’t spoil your dinner!”
I struggled to wait until after dinner when I went for three more during dessert. As I licked my chocolate covered fingers, Grandma Willa said that she would bring more for me next time.

“Grandma Willa? Do you think you could teach me how to make them?”

She smiles and says, “How about I just give you my recipe book?”

As she was leaving, she gave me a purple book that was full of all kinds of tasty treasuries.

***

I struggled to perfect the peanut butter cups as they are not yet frozen enough in the fridge. I heard the timer go off just as I was finishing my homework from high school. The melted Hershey chocolate continued to spill over the chunky peanut butter. I threw the treats back in the fridge and I set a timer for thirty minutes, again, just as I heard the front door open.

Grandma Willa walked through the kitchen and dropped four containers of food and treats. “Hello, Ella. What are you doing?”

“It’s a little surprise!” I quivered because the treats were not ready and not NEARLY good enough for her.

Soon, everyone arrived for Easter and almost everything was set. After dinner, the family separated into conversations with each other and I heard the timer go off. I took the treats out of the fridge and prayed for the best … frozen enough.

I place the glass container on the counter and cut them into squares. I began to pass them out for dessert and I saved two for Grandma Willa. She smiled as she took a bite. Awaiting for her critiques, her judgment, I stood still next to her as she sat at the kitchen table.

Willa looked at me and patted my shoulder. “Very well done.”

“Really? Nothing to critique me on?”

“Nope … I would even say that these are better than mine.”

My body almost jumped in excitement as she licked her chocolate covered fingers.

***

Years passed and, eventually in grace and peace, so did my lovely Willa. So many beautiful childhood memories of mine with her in them.

Even today, after making the peanut butter cups several times before, they are never perfect. The peanut butter does not mix well, the chocolate melts over the top, or the treats do not freeze well. I am told I am doing everything right. I should put it outside. I should put it in the freezer for longer periods of time. I do everything I am told. But they are never perfect.

In one way or another, I am creating memories of my own as I lick my chocolate covered fingers from my messy treats, an attempt of her blissful creations.

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PEANUT BUTTER CUPS

RECIPE

(Taken directly from Willa’s recipe book)

Melt 1½ sticks oleo

Mix in 1⅔ c. graham cracker (1 pkg)

Add 1 box (4C.) powdered sugar

Mix in 1½ c. peanut butter

Mix above ingredients and pat well in large pan

Melt 1g. Package chocolate chips & pour over ings. Let set until chocolate firms. Cut in squares

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Willa’s note from recipe book

A favorite recipe of Pauline Stules, a former neighbor of Debbie’s. [Author’s note: Debbie is my grandmother, Willa’s daughter] Debbie got the recipe from her and we have enjoyed it ever since. Tastes like Reeses Peanut Butter Cups. It is good to have nice neighbors especially when they are good cooks and will share their knowledge (and recipes) with you.

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