Tammie's Homeschool Blog: Holiday Baking

We were finally able to get some holiday "baking" in today. I put baking in parentheses because the oven wasn't involved...well, except for having to put the pan of chocolate in the oven to soften it. It seems that when it says to put it in the refrigerator for 20 minutes, that is what you should do...*not stick it in the freezer thinking it would be faster, then proceed to forget about it for 20 minutes.

This was a new recipe for us. I have seen many variations, but I changed this one a little. The biggest difference was the chocolate/white chocolate. A couple of recipes I found used the really good chocolate. The commissary did not carry the "good" stuff...and I, being incredibly lazy, decided that The Man and the kids would not know the difference anyway...so I bought Hershey and Tollhouse. The commissary also did not have peppermint extract...so we used plain mint extract. The girls had fun making this, The Man gave it a big thumbs up, and it was E.A.S.Y.

When it gets a little closer to Christmas, I will post the recipe for a family favorite...Christmas Wreaths.

Peppermint Bark

1lb (16 oz) chocolate (I used 18 oz of Hershey's Special Dark...it was easier to measure a 12 oz bag and half of a second bag)

12 oz white chocolate (I just used the white chocolate chips)

3/4 tsp peppermint extract (oops...I think I used a whole tsp of mint extract)

8-10 candy canes. (since the commissary only had the nasty Starburst candy canes, Chaney took one for the team, fessing up the giant candy cane she received from church.)

~Line a cookie sheet with wax paper.

~Add chocolate and 1/2 tsp extract to double boiler. Stir until melted and smooth.

~Spread chocolate evenly onto lined cookie sheet. The thickness should be about ~1/4 inch.

~Set cookie sheet into refrigerator for about 20 mins.

~While this is setting up, clean double boiler for the white chocolate.

~Break up candy canes. They should be about the size of a pea.

~Take out first layer.

~Add rest of extract and white chocolate to double boil and melt until smooth.

~This is where it got a bit tricky. You need it to be firm enough to spread the white chocolate, but still soft enough to melt a bit so that the two meld together.

~Spread white chocolate over first layer. This layer will be thinner than the first.

~Sprinkle the crushed candy over the top.

~Let sit for 10 mins or so, then place in the refrigerator for about an hour.

I tried to cut them into triangles, but some pieces did not want to cooperate. The ones that did, looked very cute though. And here are the pictures.