Ready Or Not

This year, along with a few traditional recipes, I decided to try making Peppermint Bark.  It is an easy thing to make, but an effort that gets easier with each batch.  One of my sons volunteered to help break up the candy canes, a task that sounded easy, but presented its own challenges.  Twenty four candy canes needed to be broken up.  Each one had to be unwrapped from its plastic wrapper.  Pieces of static-charged plastic wrap clung to his fingers, but after the first dozen he had found out the trick was to unwrap them from the bottom.  

We double-zip-lock bagged the candy, and he used a wooden mallet to pound down the candy canes.  

As you can see, Tom really put a lot of himself into the task.  In a cloud of candy cane dust, we finished the coarser pieces in a food processor, and the job was done.

Next, I melted down the chocolate pieces.  Using a double boiler, the white chocolate melted, and proceeded to seize into a stiff blob. There was no spreading it.  After a frantic search on the computer for solutions, I tried the suggestion of adding a tablespoon of vegetable oil, and the mass turned smooth and silky and  then I was able to work with it.  The second batch went much better, and I didn't have to add anything to the white chocolate.

Peppermint Bark 

24 ounces white chocolate chips

24 ounces milk chocolate chips

1 teaspoon peppermint extract

20 candy canes

1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil and spray with cooking spray.

2. Pour the milk chocolate chips onto the pan and spread them around. Bake for a couple of minutes until they look a bit melted. Then take the pan from the oven and spread the chocolate around with a spatula. Put the pan in the refrigerator to cool and harden for about 30 minutes.

3. Next open the candy canes, place them on a cookie sheet under a clean dishtowel and crush them with a hammer (this part is fun for kids). Sort the larger candy cane pieces from the candy cane dust.

4. Melt the white chocolate chips in a double boiler (I used a smaller pan in a bigger pan), stirring constantly. Add the peppermint extract and stir in the candy cane dust which will color your chocolate a light shade of pink. Let it cool a bit, then pour it over the top of your milk chocolate layer.

5. Sprinkle with candy cane pieces and press them down gently so that they stick.

6. Refrigerate for several hours, shake off the excess candy pieces, then break the bark into chunks. Best kept refrigerated.

I can finally reveal a piece of Christmas knitting!  Let me present to you the "Coach Inspired Scarf."

My niece had put a scarf on her Christmas list, and knowing how much she enjoys Coach bags, I decided to use the free pattern offered by Jeanna Quinones of Girlieqknits, who uses similar colors to get the look, without the hefty price tag.

Nicole loves it, and the colors match perfectly with her Coach coin purse.  I used the recommended colors offered by Lion Brand's Vanna's Choice yarn.  She can wash it any time and not worry about special care.

I have been busy knitting for Christmas, but have to wait until later to show them to you.

Until then, have a wonderful holiday!