Peppermint Bark

I bring you this recipe post-Christmas because I a) made my best batch of peppermint bark four days before Christmas and b) feel the need to give you a new use for all of the candy canes you can buy on clearance right now.

I had seen peppermint bark in a magazine recently and decided I needed to conquer my fear of melting chocolate and make it this year. When I was living with my parents, we had a double boiler and would melt chocolate to make buckeyes each year. Out in the real world, I have yet to purchase a double boiler and instead use a make-shift one when I make this cheesecake for my husband and think I just closed my eyes and crossed my fingers when I made the cake batter bark earlier this year.

But the chocolate-melting-without-a-double-boiler for this bark? Sooooo easy. I used Nestle morsels and followed the directions on the back for melting them. (The directions for the semi-sweet and milk chocolate chips vary slightly from the white chocolate instructions.) This didn't take long, and aside from messing up one batch because I was distracted by an extremely chatty husband (I didn't mix the candy canes in with the white chocolate and ended up sprinkling it over the melted chocolate), I was very pleased with the results. I made three batches, and my favorite by far was a milk chocolate/white chocolate combination. All of them were well-received.

Ingredients:

12 ounces (about 2 cups) dark chocolate, chopped, or chocolate chips
12 ounces (about 2 cups) white chocolate, chopped, or white chocolate chips
8 peppermint candy canes (I used 7-9)

Directions:

1. Unwrap the candy canes and place them in a food processor. Pulse on/off several times for 5-10 seconds each, until the canes have been crushed into small pieces. Alternately, place the candy canes in a large Ziploc bag and seal tightly. Use a rolling pin to roll/smash the candy canes until they are the size you desire. (I double-bagged them and experimented for each batch, using a rolling pin, hammer and stapler to smash them. The stapler was by far the most effective.)

2. Prepare a cookie sheet by covering it with smooth aluminum foil.

3. Melt or temper the dark chocolate. Pour the chocolate onto the prepared cookie sheet and use an offset spatula or knife to spread it to an even thickness, a little more than 1/8" thick. The chocolate does not have to reach all sides of the sheet, as it will be broken up later anyhow. Place the tray in the refrigerator to firm up while you prepare the white chocolate (I left it in for at least 20 minutes each time).

4. While the dark chocolate hardens, melt or temper the white chocolate. Stir in most of the candy cane bits, reserving about a quarter of the mixture to put on top. (I stir all of them in unless Chatty McHusband is around.)

5. Remove the tray from the refrigerator and spread the white chocolate in an even layer over the dark chocolate.

6. While the white chocolate is still wet, sprinkle the remaining candy cane pieces over the entire surface evenly. Press down very slightly to ensure they stick. Place the tray back in the refrigerator to firm up for 30 minutes.

7. Once the peppermint bark bark is completely set, break into small, uneven pieces by hand.

Source: about.com

The things we do for love

I found some photos from my great Christmas Baking Adventure of 2010, which yielded such yummy gems as Brownie Crackles and Chocolate Caramel Cracker Candy.

While I am fully aware these were taken months ago, it's not the first time a late-night baking session has occurred in our home, and I'm certain it won't be the last. I had agreed to bake up a few plates of cookies for Tim's holiday work potluck, and I also needed some cookies to send out with gifts we were mailing the next day.

I came home from work around midnight, and Operation Bake All Night commenced. Tim was working days back then, so he went to bed hours before I was done with this project. I think I made five or six different kinds of cookies and had a pretty good routine down by the end of it. But I was exhausted. And tired of washing dishes, particularly my mixing bowls and baking sheets. And if I remember correctly, minutes after I finished the last batch, washed the dishes and covered and packed everything up appropriately, my daughter woke up. She'd been sleeping through the night for months, yet apparently the little Betty Crocker in her woke up that night and decided she wanted to party with Mommy ... at 4 a.m.

After getting Elle back to sleep, I stumbled to bed for a few hours - no time for sweet dreams, I just wanted sleep.

Ah, the life of a Baker.

Some of my creations.

Ugh.

Oven on, and it's 3:40 in the morning. Kill. Me. Now.

What's the craziest baking adventure you've had? Stayed up all night to finish a birthday cake? Promised to make dozens of cookies for a work or school function and then finished them at the last minute? Share your stories, folks - just remembering this night makes me feel a little nuts, and I'd like to know I'm not alone :)

Christmas baking galore

Ah, holiday baking. Yes, it's been over a month since Christmas, and yes, my posts have slowed down a bit in that time. But that's because I've been recovering from baking overload.

I spent what felt like EONS baking, baking, baking last month. Several holiday potlucks, a cookie exchange with Mike's co-workers, packages of goodies to our families and treats for our own gathering on Christmas Day.

And you know what? I loved every minute of it. There's something about singing along to The Carpenters Christmas album and mixing up a batch of cookies that gets me in the holiday spirit.

When all was said and done, I made....

Tons and tons of fudge. Some plain, some with walnuts, some with macadamia nuts... but all good.


Cherry Chuckles. These are a favorite, traditional Christmas cookie in my family. Growing up, no one ever wanted to be stuck with the job of chopping up all those candied cherries (and honestly, it's still annoying), but the end result is always worth it.

I made them for the first time on my own last Christmas, our first in Phoenix. This year, I think they were even better. They taste like HOME. (Needless to say, I ate approximately 30 of them.)


Chocolate chip cookies. Again, my family's recipe, and a Christmas must-have:


Other assorted goodies, including macaroons and my usual festive, chocolate-covered pretzel sticks. Plus, a new addition this year: Mike's Nana's famous roll-out cookies.

Most people would call them sugar cookies, but in Mike's family, they're know as roll-outs. And they are beloved. Mike began describing them to me around Thanksgiving, angling for me to get the recipe from his mom and try them out.

My mom-in-law was nice enough to take me through the recipe step-by-step, giving me tons of tips from her experience of many years making them with Nana. She stressed that the cookies were a two-person job (one to roll and cut, one to bake and sprinkle), so my friend Kelly came over one night to help me.


I thought maybe they would need some kind of frosting, but Mike was appalled at the suggestion. Just sprinkles, he said. I could tell this was important to him, so I obliged.

And he was right -- they're delicious! They weren't quite what I was expecting. They're thinner and crispier than most sugar cookies I've had. But they've got such a great light, buttery taste, and they stayed fresh for much longer than the rest of the cookies. Plus, they were a huge hit at our place on Christmas Day.

I will leave you with the image of my kitchen counter, leading up to the big day:


Merry (extremely belated) Christmas!!

Apricot Bars

This is another recipe passed on by my friend Darla. She recommends it as the perfect colorful compliment to heavier cookies. After reading over the recipe, I'm excited to try these! (And when I do, I'll add a photo so you can see the yummy goodness.)

Ingredients:
3/4 cup butter (1 1/2 sticks), softened
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 c flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1 1/3 cups flaked coconut
1/2 cup chopped walnut
12 oz jar apricot preserves (Darla uses low-sugar so it's not so sweet)

Directions:
Cream butter sugar, add egg and vanilla, mix well.
Combine flour and baking powder, gradually add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients.
Add coconut and walnuts, mix thoroughly. It will be a little crumbly.

Press 2/3 of dough into 9x13 pan, spread with apricots.
Crumble remaining dough over apricots.

Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes until golden brown.

Source: Darla

Sugar crispies, ska the best sugar cookie in all of Texas.

A few weeks ago, we put out the call for your favorite holiday recipes. I received a few for yummy treats that I can't wait to bake, whether it be sometime this year or for a future Christmas. This recipe is perfect for the holidays, but it's also great for absolutely any time.

My crafting group had a cookie party a few weeks before Christmas. Darla, one of our faithful members, wasn't able to attend, but she offered to bake these special sugar cookies for us to decorate at the party. A few of the crafters had the pleasure of munching on these cookies at other events and raved about how fantastic they were.

These cookies are delicious, and super-fun to decorate. Unlike the sugar cookies that usually come to my mind (fluffy, thick, maybe even a bit chewy), these are crisp and oh-so-thin. They're amazing.

Directions:

Cream 1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar

Combine/cream
1 beaten egg
1tbsp milk
1tsp vanilla

Sift
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder

Chill 1 day, roll and bake 5 min at 350 degrees


Glaze (optional):
1 stick butter
1 box powdered sugar
Milk and vanilla, make it thin.

Source: Darla

Let's get ready to RUMBLE!

This week marks the start of the official holiday baking season! I must say, I am rather excited.

As you can see on the left, I've been stocking up. That's because my in-laws are coming to the desert for Thanksgiving! The last time I shoveled down a meal of turkey, stuffing and potatoes with family was 2003. That's SIX YEARS.

The past several Thanksgivings have been spent with good friends. The kind of friends who are practically family anyway. But even so. There's something about having family coming into town for the holiday that has Mike and I bouncing off the walls with excitement.

Our menu is planned. I, of course, am in charge of all things sweet. I'm going to make my Grandma's applesauce for a side dish, and a pumpkin roll for the big dessert. And then I'll whip up some candied pecans, mini chocolate-covered pretzel sticks and maybe even some fudge. That way we'll have sweets to snack on for the several days they're in town.

For those of you who don't have it all planned out yet, here are a few holiday baking tips, courtesy of associatedcontent.com:

1. Start Early. You never know what's going to come up, and sometimes sugar, chocolate and other common ingredients can be fickle. You want to make sure you are prepared for mistakes.

2. Check Equipment. If you are making candy or working with sugar, it's imperative that the thermometer is exact. If not, you risk ruining the entire batch. Check it before you get started.

3. Use High Quality Ingredients When Necessary. While you can (and should!) get away with store brands for sugar and flour, things like chocolate need to be of a higher quality. They are easier to work with, and your recipes will turn out better.

4. Don't Mix Water With Chocolate. When melting chocolate, DO NOT allow it to come into contact with water. This will cause the chocolate to seize, or become a hard, gritty, unappealing mass of chocolate. So try to avoid even a drop of water. If it does happen, add about a teaspoon of vegetable oil and try to melt the chocolate again. This might save it, if it hasn't had a lot of time to seize.

5. Avoid The Flour Cloud. If you are mixing a lot of dry ingredients, stir by hand before turning on the mixer. This will avoid a loss of ingredients and that "flour cloud" which manages to get all over your kitchen.

6. Avoid Grease With Butter Recipes. If a cookie recipe calls for butter, you don't need to grease the pan. The butter will act as its own grease, and will allow you to easily pull the cookies off of the tray.

7. Corn Syrup For Softness. If you want softer cookies, add corn syrup to the mix. This will keep the cookies softer for longer. I usually add a tablespoon or two, depending on which recipe I'm making.

8. Cake Is Done When It Pulls Away. In addition to the toothpick test, a cake is done when the sides start to pull away from the pan.

9. Hold Cake Tips At An Angle. If you are writing on a cake, hold the tip at an angle, which will smooth out your writing and prevent your hand from dragging on the cake.

10. Use Cursive On Cakes. When writing on a cake, use cursive. It flows better, and decreases the amount of breakages in the writing.