DIY: Tin Can Treats

There's really something fun about opening a can with a tab-and-pull lid. This year for stocking stuffers I made some filled with my favorite treats.

I chose the cheapest possible thing with this type of lid, and it happened to be things like canned peaches, mixed fruit and pears. Most of the innards I threw out but Scout ended up loving them so it didn't all go to waste.

You need to get yourself one of those can openers that cut from the side and not the top so you can glue the bottom back on. I got this one at Ikea. Open all the cans on the bottom and remove the label. Eat or dispose of the innards and run the containers and lids through the dishwasher.

Fill the containers with your favorite treat. make sure they're small enough to come out the pop-top side. I used things like wrapped Pepermint Andes mints, mini Peanut Butter Cups, chocolate covered pomegranate seeds etc..

When the tins are all filled up, fit the bottom on and attach with a hot glue gun. They won't be perfect, but you can cover up with paper later.

When everything is done, decorate with holiday paper, ribbons, and labels

Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter Balls!

I loved these things since first bite! Brian's mom made them and OH-MY-GOSH! Insanely delicious and insanely addicting. You're better off making these for someone else because it's likely that you will eat them all.

Ingredients:

3C. Rice Krispies
36 oz. Reduced Fat Jif peanut butter
12 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 stick butter, melted
3C. confectioners sugar
quarter stick of parafin wax ( about 1/4 c) - can adjust as needed. see next section

Mix crispies, PB, Melted butter and sugar. Shape into smallish balls. Smaller than a golf ball but bigger than a marble.

Refrigerate until chilled. After about an hour or so you can take them out and re-roll them so they're nice and smooth.

Next, use a double boiler to melt the chocolate and wax. For those of us who don't have a double boiler  I just used one large pan with water and a smaller one on top and it worked great. That wax is great for the covering because it's super easy to work with and it forms a thin glossy shell. Normally I'm not the kind of chef who would use something as un-natural as paraffin wax, but considering the other ingredients, might as well just got for it!

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Dip. Dip. Dip Dip. and let the chocolate drip off so it's not swimming in a base of chocolate. Then refrigerate again. We love ours frozen so we keep them in the freezer.

Enjoy!