Cherry O'lets

This recipe is very dear to us. Well, to Matt. This was one of those treats his grandma would make for him. I'd heard him talk about it once or twice before. It wasn't until she recently passed that I heard him talking about it in a way that attached so much fondness and memories of her. That's when I decided to hunt down the recipe from his cousin. Got it just in time to surprise him with it for his birthday! So this was his 'birthday cake' this year. I'm not typically a fan of cherries, but I actually really like this! Cherries aren't for everyone, but if you like anything cherry, you'd probably really enjoy this. Tastes very much like a 9x13" pan of The Big Cherry candy. The recipe was missing a step or two, so this is the recipe with what I did to fill in the difference.

2 C sugar
2/3 C evaporated milk
12 large marshmallows
1/2 C margarine
3/4-1 tsp salt
10 oz vanilla chips
2 tbsp cherry flavoring
Small bottle Maraschino cherries, chopped
1 tsp vanilla
12 oz milk chocolate chips
3/4 C peanut butter

1 lb salted peanuts (no skins) grated or chopped

Combine sugar, milk, marshmallows, margarine and salt. Heat on medium until it comes to a full boil. Boil 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla chips, cherry flavoring, chopped cherries and vanilla {actually, the vanilla is listed in the ingredient list, but not which layer it should be in. This is Matt's best guess...}. Spread in 9x13" pan lined with waxed paper. Chill for about an hour{this was vague, but the more it's chilled the easier it is to transport}.

Melt chocolate chips, peanut butter and peanuts. Spread 1/2 of mixture in the bottom of a greased 9x13" pan. Flip chilled cherry mixture onto top of chocolate layer, spread other half of chocolate mixture over top. Chill for at least 2 hours.