Prepping for the Holidays

Hey guys! I’m finally back in Connecticut for the holidays! Okay fine, I’ve been on vacation for a week… I just haven’t found time between my reading on the couch and enjoying the cardio cinema at the gym to blog. Pathetic, I know.

Yesterday I baked all day for my mother who needed yummy treats to give as gifts. So, for the next few days I’ll be posting recipes that are my favorite for the holiday time! Just wait until I post the andes cream cheese cookies recipe.. soo good. SOOO GOOD. I might have one for breakfast today.

Anyway, something new that I tried this year is peppermint bark. My first attempt was a bit of a failure… I made it too thick, i put the dark chocolate in the fridge too long so the white chocolate didn’t stick to the dark chocolate, and I just put the candy cane pieces on top so they fell off the white chocolate. FAIL. Fortunately, take 2 (yesterday) was a success!!

I didn’t follow any specific recipes… It was more a conglomeration of a billion websites and my own brain. But I don’t think peppermint bark recipes really differ at all anyway. who knows.

I know my pictures are usually bad, but these will be really bad. I forgot my camera in Rochester and we all know i no longer have my iPod for sad reasons.. so I was left with my phone and my computer. ick.

Peppermint Bark

2 cups dark chocolate chips
2 cups white chocolate chips
3/4-1 cup of crushed candy canes + a little extra for sprinkling on top

Melt the dark chocolate chips (I did in the microwave because I don’t have a double boiler – I microwaved them for 30 secs, stirred, then at 15 second intervals, stirring between each).

Pour the dark chocolate on a cookie sheet lined with tinfoil and spread the chocolate so it’s about 1/8 of an inch thick. Put in the fridge for 5-7 minutes (no longer than this, otherwise the white chocolate won’t stick!!)

Melt the white chocolate, then stir in 3/4-1 cup of crushed candy canes.

Take the dark chocolate out of the fridge and pour the white chocolate on top and spread as thinly as possible (to cover all of the dark chocolate). Sprinkle the top with extra crushed candy cane. Make sure you do this quickly before the white chocolate hardens – press the candy canes on top down so that they don’t fall off when you break apart the bark later.

Let sit in the fridge for about an hour. Then take out and break apart into desired size!

Pre-Bark-Breakage

So my pictures after I broke it are TERRIBLE. So bad that I can’t even post them on here. They don’t do the bark justice. so use your imaginations.
It looks something along the lines of this…

Thank you to the person who posted this for your much better photography

I will be back tomorrow.. or the next day.. with more recipes!

What is your favorite holiday treat??

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