25 Days of Christmas, Day 2: Peanut Brittle

 When my sisters and I were growing up, the countdown to Christmas always began with my mom's peanut brittle. It was the first of many recipes that she made for the holidays, and, the minute we saw the bag of raw peanuts in the grocery bag, our anticipation of Santa's arrival began in earnest.

The recipe Mom uses for her peanut brittle has been handed down for generations of our family, and, by "our family", I mean the peanut company from whose bag she apparently lifted the recipe (my disappointment in gaining this little bit of knowledge is right up there with Queen B's horror upon learning that Grandma's "homemade" cheesy potato casserole starts with a box mix).

Mom gets a pass because she never actually told me where she got the recipe; I just assumed it was a family recipe because my Grandma Molly's peanut brittle tasted exactly the same. Anyhoodle, the recipe may not be an heirloom, but, that in no way diminishes the comfort that I get from remembering all of those years of early-December brittle making.

As an aside, I don't actually like peanut brittle. But, I sure do love the woman who has so faithfully made it for all these years.