Homemade Reese's Peanut Butter Cups

It was Father's Day around here last weekend. Now firstly, DON'T PANIC - you didn't miss that special day for celebrating and thanking your Dad ... this was a Page family Father's Day. Mostly we follow our own calendar.

Let me explain.

We like to celebrate - birthdays, anniversaries, holidays, special days, successes, hellos, goodbyes, thank yous ... You get the idea. Many of these celebrations fall on precise dates in the calendar and that can be tricky in a packed, busy life. The answer? Change the date. Move the occasion. Make it work for you. We do it all the time. Birthdays have shifted, anniversaries have been postponed, special days have been rescheduled. No occasion is immune - except for Christmas Day ... I think there'd be a family mutiny if we messed with that one. Plus it would mess up Santa's schedule.

For us, it works. We can choose a date where there's enough time and headspace to do credit to the occasion rather than trying to pack yet more into an already packed day.

Anyway ... Father's Day on Sunday 21 June just didn't work for us this year, so we moved it to mid-September and here's how it panned out for us -

10:00 - A lie-in for my lovely husband. Best gift ever

10:30 - A good coffee (from his beloved AeroPress) delivered to him in bed - made by #1 teenage son (he's a pro on coffee). And then gifts in bed. It's traditional.

• From #1 teenage son, a weighty UK Sunday newspaper + a copy of Esquire magazine (I had no idea it was so good) with the invitation to 'take a moment'. Or two.
• Chocolate covered dates from #2 teenage son. Combining these two ingredients can never go wrong in our world.
• And from Hella, these Homemade Reese's Peanut Butter Cups - prepared by her own hand. More on this later.

11:30 - Then there were bacon sandwiches for breakfast. They turned out to be pretty spectacular and I would put that down to -

• 1 packet smoked bacon + 1 packet unsmoked. Loving the mix.
• Unsliced white bread. Toasted for my lovely husband, 'as it comes' for the rest of us.
• And the last-minute killer ingredient? A Fiery Chilli Tomato Ketchup from Heinz. Where has this been hiding?

12:30 - And afterwards, there was pottering. You know ... weekend stuff. Before ...

16:00 - A late afternoon trip to the beach, calling at Cafe Bateel en route for Date Smoothies to go.

18:00 - And then home for dinner. It was Week 2 of Teenagers Tackle Dinner so you will be able to relive the experience here soon.

And now back to those Homemade Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. What a discovery. A sweet, nutty base with a secret peanut butter centre and topped with a thick layer of chocolate. Don't be fooled into believing that in this instance HOMEMADE = HEALTHY. These beauties are packed with sugar and butter, but this is a treat - we're not talking every day here. You'll need a silicone mould like this or the cups will be impossible to get out in a presentable manner. And make sure that the holes are small (mine were 5cm (2") diameter and 3cm (1¼") deep). These are very, very rich so small is good. I made 22 cups (my trays are old and each has 11 openings) but if your tray only has 20 openings in it, go with that - it will be fine.

And here's why I think you'll be trying these Homemade Reese's Peanut Butter Cups

• These are genuinely EASY. With the smallest amount of guidance, Hella put these together herself. I like that in a homemade gift.
• No baking involved. The only heat required is melting the chocolate and we did that in the microwave.
• They look so pretty and make an ideal gift.
• Best of all they taste seriously delicious and will keep in the fridge for ages. If you're able to resist them that is.

So there you have it - a delicious, pretty, gift-worthy treat to add to your repertoire.

Now you just need to find yourself an occasion to celebrate.

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