Chocolate Covered Candy Fun

Maxine and Hank were always pranking  their friends.  John Thomas was one who often took the brunt of their jovial abuse.  In January, a bunch of old Christmas trees might show up in John's front yard with a big sign indicating they wanted old Christmas trees to be recycled, or some such nonsense.

Maxine was not nearly that crass, though....she had a cooking reputation that simply could not be tarnished.  And, John was hooked on her cooking.  Every time he stopped by the house, he was sure to visit the kitchen to see if there were any freshly baked bread, cinnamon rolls, cookies, pies or candy left over....hoping Dave hadn't been there before him!

If there was one single thing that John liked the most, it was probably Maxine's cherry dipped chocolates that looked just like the store-bought candies, but better........VASTLY BETTER!!!  They had no preservatives, as they weren't going to last more than a few weeks.  Furthermore, Maxine used only the best ingredients, and cooked them to perfection.  There was nothing better to John, and EVERY Christmas he anxiously looked forward to Maxine's chocolate covered cherries.  Of course, Maxine always complied, and produced many boxes of them to give to her close friends, and especially John.....he would never forgive her if he didn't get a box of them for Christmas.

Like a big fish hooked on the line, but not realizing it, Maxine made a special batch of dipped chocolates one year.  Everything was exactly the same as before, except.........instead of a cherry, she replaced them with small ice balls.  Once the chocolates were dipped, they looked perfect, which was expected of Maxine's confections.  The dipped chocolates were then stored in the freezer to keep the ice solid.....awaiting the proper timing to be warmed to room temperature.  

That *proper time* happened when they were having their Christmas party one year.  That was an event John would never have missed, and imagine his happiness when Maxine presented a box of her special cherry-chocolates to him.  John couldn't wait to sink his teeth in his favorite confectionary.  Instead of a scrumptious cherry though, all the ice that had melted turned into water, which then dribbled out of John's mouth onto his festive shirt.....such a cruel shock, he'd never experienced in all his life!  Of course, all the partiers had a good laugh at John's expense, as a favorite Christmas story had been given birth.