Oprah has lots of favorite things and likes to talk about them regularly. Obviously I’m not famous but I thought I might share a few things over the next few weeks that I find invaluable.

Every year during the holiday season we attend many events with our families and church. All of these events include food and I inevitably take the same thing – peanut butter balls (also known as buckeyes but this Indiana girl REFUSES to call them that). I’ve made them since I was a little girl sneaking them from my grandma and they are still just as well loved now as they were then.

That being said, one of my favorite things is something that makes preparing the hundreds of candies I prepare each year just a little bit easier.

My KitchenAid mixer.

I’ve had this mixer since my family all decided to pitch in and get it for my birthday about 12 years ago. It was been well used and well loved. I’m able to whip up a double batch of the peanut butter filling in just a few minutes and just add the ingredients while the mixer does the work. Using a hand mixer would require a smaller batch and much more elbow grease to combine the thick filling. No thank you.

I’ve had many small appliances and gadgets that have worn out or lost their usefulness but my kitchen would be bare without this one.