Ocean Night Cupcakes

Zoe, my first grade daughter, was having Ocean Night with her class, and her teacher asked if some parents would make snacks. So, I volunteered and started scouring the internet for cute ideas. I finally decided on several different cupcakes. The plan was to make 48 of them, with different ocean animals on each one.

My first cupcake was a sea turtle cupcake because Zoe's animal that she researched was a sea turtle. I made about 8 of these. I loved how sweet these little guys were. The head was a large green gumdrop with miniature chocolate chip eyes, the shell was a sandwich cookie half with piped on frosting and dipped in green sugar, and the legs were spearmint leaves cut to size. (I also loved that I used NO FONDANT on any of the cupcakes, all just cookies, candies, and other yummy goodies.)




My next set of cupcakes were colorful fish. I made 22 of these. They are simply M&M's and a flattened fruit slice cut in half. Super easy and super cute!



I made these Octopus cupcakes with orange melting disks from Wilton. I just kind of winged it (and yes, I know Octopus have eight legs, but they looked cuter with only six.) I put it on top of some pretty blue buttercream frosting, and voila - an octopus cupcake. I made the seahorse the same way - but only made one of these. (Zoe's best friend did her project on seahorses, so I had to make one!)




I made these whales and whale's tails cupcakes with Twinkies and chocolate wafer cookies. I got the idea from the "What's New Cupcake" book that I got for my birthday from my mother-in-law. I was surprised that they actually turned out almost as cute as the ones in the book. The heads were popular with the kids, but none of the tail cupcakes went!



By far, the most popular cupcake (and I only made three!) was the shark cupcake. It is also made with a Twinkie and a chocolate wafer for the fin. The mouth is red fruit roll up, the eyes mini chocolate chips. These were the first off the table, and probably into boy's hands, though I cannot guarantee that!




I spent an entire day decorating these, but it was so worth it seeing the kid's faces when they got to have one!

Easter Cookies

I am going to rename myself the Lazy Baker. I didn't make the cookie dough (Pillsbury makes such good sugar cookie dough!), I used the fewest colors of icing possible, and I used mini chocolate chips for the eyes. Whenever I bake, I find myself more and more thinking, "How can I make this with only two colors?"

Anyways, I was inspired by Kate over at Grin and Bake It. For Easter this year I am making her Snickerdoodle Bars as well as some hatching chick Easter egg cookies. Her cookies are so sweet and beautiful, and full of many colors. Mine, mine are cute, but only have a few colors. The bare minimum in my opinion. I would love to make some like hers, with Easter egg colors and lovely fancy eggs without chicks, but as usual, time crunched and I needed to get my family packed up to go to Ohio. And, I'm lazy.





But, I still think my cookies turned out pretty darn cute, even for a lazy baker! (The cookies are huge - Pillsbury dough spreads pretty significantly, so the nieces and nephews are going to get quite a treat!)

My Knitting Projects

So I have gotten very busy with knitting, and enjoy it very much. My only fear with knitting is that it is going to be like all my other creative passions - things I LOVED doing for awhile (even several years), but now don't do or do very infrequently (scrapbooking, cross stitching, cake decorating, stamping and making my own cards, etc., etc.) I am afraid I will amass my supplies (knitting needles and yarn) and then never use them again.

Despite these fears, though, I am knitting quite frequently and really do enjoy the creative process. I currently have a rule to have no more than two knitting projects going on at once, in order to make sure I finish them. (I started a scarf that took me two months to knit, mostly because the pattern was boring, even for a beginner like me.)

I have had some orders from my kids, and I have made some gifts already. So, I decided to share some pictures of my finished projects here, today.

My Shamrock Dishcloth - first project finished, (2nd started) - didn't turn out very pretty, but it's for me and it washes dishes just fine



Two Rubber Ducky dishcloths for my brother-in-law - second and third projects I finished, thought these looked pretty nice aside from the ugly cast on edge





Seed Stitch Dishcloth - mainly just wanted to see what seed stitch looked like, made for us, cleans dishes well.



My first Bunny Blankie Buddy - Know several pregnant people, wanted to make a practice bunny to make sure I could do it. Was really proud of this one until I made my second one - you'll see what I mean! (Gave this to my youngest daughter, she loves it.)



My second Bunny Blankie Buddy (in blue) - See what I mean? So much better all the way around. Gave this to my older daughter. She too loves hers.



Dishcloth for my mom for Mother's Day - Don't worry, she does not read my blog. Loved how this one turned out.



Second dishcloth for my mom - Her favorite color is yellow.



Third dishcloth for my mom - Wanted to have a set of three for her. (Can't wait to give them to her!)



Hat for my son - I'm making three of these, this one in black was for my son, making a purple and pink one for the two girls



The infamous two month scarf - here it is!



That's all for now, but I'll try and keep posting some of my work here as I finish items.

My First Pattern

So last month I blogged about learning to knit. Since then I have made a scarf (still in progress), two bunny blankie buddies and several dishcloths. And I am loving all the knitting I'm doing, but I wanted to make something out of some of the leftover yarn and try a new stitch pattern other than garter, stockinette, and rib. So I checked a book out of the library with all kinds on stitch pattern ideas and came up with this cute poncho for my daughter's American Girl doll. It is a fast and easy knit, and something any A.G. doll owner would love (especially in a color to coordinate with one of their outfits!)


Ridged Poncho for American Girl Doll

Materials:
Size US 10 1/2 needles (6.5 mm)
Bulky Weight Yarn

Instructions:
Make two identical pieces.

CO 36 stitches

Row 1: Knit
Row 2: p1, *k2tog; repeat from * to last stitch, p1
Row 3: k1, *Kfb; repeat from * to last stitch, k1
Row 4: Purl
Repeat these 4 rows a total of 6 times (24 rows of knitting)
Row 25: Knit
BO
Weave in all ends

Finishing:
Sew short end of one piece along long edge of other piece. Use cast on edges at neck edge of poncho. Sew the short end of the second piece to the long edge of the first piece to form poncho.

For the poncho I made I used Lion Brand Jiffy yarn in Aqua. It knit up nicely and is nice and soft for my daughter to play with.


I really loved the end result and I'm happy to share the simple pattern here!

Feeling Crafty

I have been feeling crafty lately. I have all kinds of craft ideas running through my head, and various amounts of supplies for scrapbooking, card making, stamping and other little fun things like that.

So what have I done? I decided to learn how to knit. Something for which I have essentially no supplies for and have to go out and buy. I'm sure my dear husband is thrilled.

This really came about because my six year old daughter received a teach kids to knit book along with some knitting needles and yarn from her Great Aunt Kathy and her Uncle Kevin. Great Aunt Kathy and Uncle Kevin are extremely talented knitters and were eager to pass on their hobby when Zoe showed an interest while spending time with them.

So, I have decided to teach her (and her eight year old sister as well), but knew for me to help them, I would need to learn myself, first.


I have now knitted two things. The first is a purple rectangle, and despite the fact that I dropped at least two stitches and some of the stitches are ridiculously loose and some are too tight, I'm very proud of that rectangle. I have also knitted the first square of a banner the girls and I are going to knit after I teach them! This second piece of knitting is remarkably better than the first, and I'm now ready to learn the purl stitch! (So far all I have done is the knit or garter stitch. After I learn the purl stitch, I should be able to do more!)



I am very excited at the prospect of making little projects with the girls, and I hope they learn to be great knitters like their Great Aunt and Uncle! And who knows, maybe I'll even make a scarf in time for next winter!

A Few Treats

Well I did get a little fancy over the holidays and made a few pretty treats to serve. My husband has a department work party where the company brings in the main dishes, but the employees (and/ or their spouses) send in desserts and goodies.

I made my chocolate chocolate chip cake with peppermint buttercream filling and chocolate buttercream frosting. I wanted to fancy it up a bit, so I made white chocolate mint snowflakes to put on the cake. I finished with the words "Let It Snow" on top. I tried to make the words sparkly by applying luster dust, which didn't go too well. But I was really pleased with the results and my cake won two categories in the employee voting. I won "most appealing to the eye" and "most festive." (I actually tied with three other people in one of those categories, but I can't remember which!)



I also finally made Bakerella's Cake Pop's that she has become so famous for! I decided to make buttermilk Devil's food cake for the base. I then crumbled half of the cake and mixed it with vanilla frosting. I mixed the other half of the crumbled cake with peppermint frosting. I dipped them in a mixture of chocolate bark and Ghirardelli's bittersweet chocolate. Then I sprinkled pretty Christmas sprinkles on top and then finished them with a Merry Christmas sign or red or green bow. I love how they turned out!







Now to start dreaming up my Valentine's treats!

Happy Birthday Post

Thursday, December 30th was my 38th birthday. And even though it is the new year, I want to talk about my birthday from last year.


I had a really great birthday. In the morning I made muffins to take to my husband's grandparents, who we visited in the afternoon. December 23rd happened to be Brendan's Grandma McKillip's 95th birthday. Her party, unfortunately, was the weekend we had planned on going to Ohio for my family's Christmas. I had talked it over quite frequently with my mom, and with Brendan. My mom had offered to move our Christmas, but the only available weekend would have been the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Brendan didn't want her to have to do that, and for me to miss my extended family's Christmas, so we went to Ohio and missed Grandma's party.

To try and make it up to her, we decided to take the kids and visit Great Grandma and Great Grandpa. We had a lovely time visiting and had carrot cake and ice cream that they offered us. We also had some of the candy they received for Christmas. Brendan's grandparents have to be the two nicest people in the world. I feel so blessed and lucky to have them in my life, especially since all of my grandparents are in Heaven already.

After visiting with Grandma and Grandpa, we took the kids to Vaughn Athletic Center to go swimming. They have a great indoor pool complete with water slides and a splash zone. We all had a blast riding the water slides and the kids wore themselves out swimming and running across the lily pad floats in the pool.

Considering the late hour after we were done swimming, we headed to Portillo's and got take out for dinner. Ahhh, no cooking for me on my birthday! I had a fantastic hamburger and onion rings and we had some almond chocolate chip blondies for dessert.

I was serenaded with a rousing version of Happy Birthday by my kids and Brendan. and then got to open my gift. It was a pink iPod nano!!! Complete with $15 iTunes gift card! Brendan even had it engraved on the back, "To my favorite lady." It is awesome considering my iPod mini no longer would allow new music to be uploaded to it. I can now listen to my tunes again!

I have to also mention some of my other favorite birthday gifts, too. My sister got me "Cake Pops" by Bakerella. She gave it to me at our Christmas in Ohio, so it was just in time to help me with the cake pops I made for the first time for Christmas. (Pictures to follow in a later post.) I can't wait to try some of the other ideas in that book! My sister-in-law and brother-in-law got me a Starbuck's card! Woot! Woot! Now I have two gift cards to spend at the 'Bucks! It's going to be a fun January and February! And my mother-in-law got me a black zipper hoodie in a tall size! It goes all the way past my wrists! I'm in seventh heaven! (Talk to tall girls about finding clothes that fit, not fun!)

Anyways, it really was a great birthday. (Wow, I also like exclamation points!)

Christmas Wrap Up

Christmas was truly joyous this year. I spent time celebrating with both my family as well as my husband's family. I even spent time with my mom's family, seeing my aunts, uncles, and cousins, some of whom I hadn't seen in two years! It's always a great time gathering with family and spending time with one another.

I also got some fantastic gifts, and while I know it isn't just about the gifts, let's face it, they are fun! I thought I'd share some of my favorite ones here.

When I was in Ohio, at our "Christmas appetizer" (the term my son gave this party because it was before Christmas), I received a Starbuck's gift card! Yay! I love Starbuck's, but I won't indulge without a gift card or good reason, so now I have a reason!

My husband got me three cool gifts that I love! First, in my stocking I got Fannie May eggnog creams and peppermint creams. Yum! Second, he got me the perfume I wanted, Elizabeth Taylor's Passion. The bottle is so 80's excess, yet so art deco cool, that I think it looks beautiful on my bathroom counter. We thought the design might be just old enough to be considered "retro" now. And finally, the third gift from my husband that I won't stop wearing is my Ohio State winter hat. Red and white stripes, a pompom at the top, and braided side strings with and embroidered "O" in the middle, what's not to love? (And I got my favorite movie of all time, "That Thing You Do" on DVD!)

From my brother-in-law's girlfriend I got the best homemade toffee and some awesome hand and foot cream. Finally, from my mother-in-law I got two most excellent books, "Cookie Craft" and "What's New, Cupcake?". Can't wait to try some of the cool and fun techniques in these books for yummy AND cute treats!

All in all, I had a wonderful mix of family, fun, and amazing gifts!

Almond Coffee

If you are looking for a warm and yummy way to start your Christmas morning, or a yummy and warm way to end your Christmas dinner, then this is the drink for you. Steaming, creamy and almondy, this coffee hits the spot for a special occasion.


Almond Coffee

2 cups strong brewed coffee, hot
2 cups milk, warmed
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon almond extract
1½ tablespoons sugar, or to taste

Combine all ingredients and stir to mix well. Taste for sweetness and add more sugar if desired. Pour into four coffee mugs and garnish with whipped cream and a sprinkle of cinnamon if desired.


Notes: If you have some lactose issues (as I do) you can substitute almond milk for the regular milk (and it is a bit more authentic, then!). If you use the vanilla flavored almond milk, do not use the vanilla extract and you may want to reduce the sugar slightly.

Merry Christmas Eve to all of my readers! Thank you for sharing in my 12 Recipes of Christmas. I truly enjoyed sharing them with you!

Truffle Fudge Brownies

Immediately when I hear "truffle" I think fancy. This is decadent and rich, and a little fancy. But most of all, it is luscious and chocolatey! How is that for a description of a dessert? I actually made this for my 15th wedding anniversary in June, but it would end a Christmas dinner very well. Dress it up with some Christmas sprinkles or leave it unadorned. Either way it will be a hit!


Truffle Fudge Brownies

for the batter:
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped
½ cup all purpose flour
¼ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon coarse salt
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
¼ cup whole milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
for the ganache:
4 ounces quality semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
⅔ cup heavy cream
for the garnish:
candy sprinkles (optional)

Preheat oven to 325ºF. Butter a 9-inch springform pan.

Make batter: Put butter and chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over simmering water; stir until melted. Let cool slightly.

Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl.

Put sugar and eggs in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, and mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Add chocolate mixture, the milk, and vanilla, and mix until combined. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture; mix, scraping down sides of bowl, until well combined.

Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake until a cake tester inserted into brownies (avoid center and edges) comes out with a few crumbs but is not wet, 27-30 minutes. Let cool completely in pan on wire rack.

Make ganache: Put chocolate in a medium bowl. Heat cream in a small saucepan over medium-high heat until just simmering. Pour over chocolate; let stand 5 minutes. Gently stir until smooth. Allow ganache to cool, stirring every 10 minutes, until slightly thickened, 25 to 30 minutes.

Pour ganache over cooled brownies in pan; let set, about 20 minutes. Refrigerate until cold, 30 minutes to 1 hour. Let brownies stand at room temperature at least 15 minutes before serving. Scatter sprinkles onto brownies if using. Lift out brownies; cut into wedges, wiping knife with a hot, damp cloth between each cut.


Notes: This is another Martha Stewart recipe. She has the reputation she has for a reason! These are really fantastic and will impress any chocolate lover!


Only two days and one more recipe until Christmas!

Beer Bread

Tastefully Simple has made a name on their beer bread. And it is good. But mine is also really good. And when you see how absolutely simple the recipe is, and that you probably have the ingredients in your pantry right now, you will never buy the Tastefully Simple mix again. Which is great because it will leave you more money to buy all the yummy dip mixes they sell! (And no, I am not a Tastefully Simple rep!)


Beer Bread

3 cups all purpose flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 ½ teaspoons salt
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 12 oz. can or bottle of beer

Preheat oven to 375ºF. Lightly grease 9 x 5 x 3-inch loaf pan.

Combine first four ingredients in a mixing bowl. Pour beer into bowl and stir with spoon until well combined.

Pour into prepared loaf pan and bake for 1 hour.


Notes: Cube this bread and serve with your favorite dip! So good!

Only 3 more days and two more recipes until Christmas!

Bavarian Apple Tart

I'm not sure what makes this tart Bavarian, but I don't really care. What I do know is that this dessert is not only delicious, but also beautiful to look at. It is a sweetened pastry crust, topped with a cheesecake like filling, and that topped with cinnamony apples. Yum!


Bavarian Apple Tart

½ cup butter, softened
⅓ cup sugar
1⅓ cups all purpose flour
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
¼ cup sugar
1 large egg
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
⅓ cup sugar
½ teaspoon cinnamon
3 Granny Smith apples, peeled and thinly sliced (4 cups)
¼ cup sliced almonds

Beat butter and 1/3 cup sugar in a small mixing bowl at medium speed with an electric mixer until fluffy. Gradually add flour, beating until mixture is blended. Stir in 1/4 teaspoon vanilla. (mixture will be slightly crumbly.)

Press pastry into bottom and 1 1/2 inches up sides of a lightly greased 9-inch springform pan.

Beat cream cheese and 1/4 cup sugar at medium speed until smooth. Add egg and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla, beating well. Spread filling evenly over pastry.

Combine 1/3 cup sugar, cinnamon, and apples, tossing lightly. Arrange apple slices over cream cheese mixture; Sprinkle with almonds.

Bake in preheated oven at 400ºF for 40 minutes. Cool on wire rack. Remove sides of pan. Serve warm or chilled. Store leftovers in the refrigerator.



Notes: I just had to add a second photo to show how pretty this dessert is on a plate! This is a lovely, fancy dessert that isn't too hard to make. I mixed the cream cheese filling in the same bowl that I made the crust in, no need to clean it first. I also had lots of apples and just layered them twice on top of one another. You will definitely impress people with this dessert!

Chocolate-Mint Cookies

A few years ago my aunt gave me an entire cookbook dedicated to cookie recipes. She obviously knows me well! I read the cookbook cover to cover, keeping a half sheet of paper inside that I could jot down the title and page number of the recipes I wanted to try. While I have tried several, the list is still very long. So at the beginning of December when my church was asking for volunteers to bake cookies as a dessert for a meal at Hesed House, a homeless shelter in our city, I decided to pull out my cookbook and try one of the new recipes. This is the recipe I picked, and the results were delicious!

Chocolate-Mint Cookies

1 cup sugar
½ cup butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
2 squares (1 oz. each) unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled
1 cup all purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
Peppermint Frosting
2 ½ cups powdered sugar
¼ cup butter, softened
2 ½ tablespoons milk
½ teaspoon peppermint extract
Chocolate Drizzle
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon corn syrup
½ cup semisweet chocolate chips
crushed peppermint candies, if desired

Heat oven to 375ºF. Beat sugar, 1/2 cup butter, the vanilla, egg and unsweetened chocolate in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed. Stir in flour and salt.

Drop dough by rounded teaspoonfuls about 2 inches apart onto ungreased or parchment lined cookie sheet. Flatten cookies with bottom of glass dipped in sugar. Bake until set, about 8 minutes. Cool 1-2 minutes; remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely.

Peppermint Frosting:
Mix all ingredients until smooth and of spreading consistency.

Spread peppermint frosting over each cookie. Melt 2 tablespoons butter, the corn syrup, and chocolate chips over low heat stirring constantly, until smooth. Drizzle mixture over each cookie; sprinkle with crushed candies.

Yield: 3 dozen


Notes: This recipe originally called for double the ingredients in the chocolate drizzle, but I had entirely too much leftover, so I cut the ingredients in half. These cookies are soft and fudgy, and the chocolate drizzle just takes them from good to over the top fantastic. I made some with the candy pieces on top and some without. Both ways were good.

Only 4 more recipes and 8 days until Christmas!

Easy Spicy Roasted Potatoes

Whether you want to serve these at dinner with a pork roast, or at brunch along with Country Breakfast Casserole, you can't go wrong with these potatoes. Even my kids love them, and I have picky kids! They are really easy, but taste so good!


Easy Spicy Roasted Potatoes

6 medium red potatoes, diced with peel
1 medium onion, chopped
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon kosher salt
2 teaspoons chili powder
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil

Preheat oven to 450ºF. Grease 9 x 13 inch baking dish.

Put all ingredients in a large bowl and stir carefully until potatoes and onions are evenly coated with oil and spices. Spread mixture evenly into baking pan.

Bake for 35-40 minutes in preheated oven, stirring every 10 minutes. Potatoes should be fork tender and slightly crispy when done.


I hope you'll give these a try! They are delicious!

Cherry Streusel Coffee Cake

Do you have overnight guests at Christmastime? Or do you like to make your family a yummy and delicious breakfast or brunch during the holidays? Then this coffee cake recipe is for you. It is beautiful to look at, smells heavenly while baking, and tastes wonderful! This is actually a Martha Stewart recipe that I've tweaked slightly. If you want to follow her recipe exactly, then click here. One of the things I really like about this coffee cake is the bounty of sweet streusel on top and the pretty red cherries inside. This coffee cake is truly welcome at any breakfast table on Christmas or New Year's morning.

Cherry Streusel Coffee Cake

1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup sour cream
1 cup frozen sour cherries, thawed and drained well
Streusel:
½ cup + 1 T. all purpose flour
3 T. packed brown sugar
½ tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp coarse salt
3 T. unsalted butter, room temperature
Milk Glaze:
½ cup powdered sugar
1 T. milk

Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Grease a 9-inch tube pan; set aside. In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla on medium speed until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the flour mixture in three parts, alternating with the sour cream and beginning and ending with the flour. Beat until just combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.

Spoon about half the batter into the prepared pan. Arrange the cherries in a single layer on top of the batter; avoid placing any cherries against the pan's edge, as they may stick or burn if not fully encased in batter. Top with the remaining batter, making sure it is evenly distributed, and smooth with an offset spatula. Sprinkle streusel evenly over the top of the batter.

Bake until cake is golden brown and springs back when touched, 40 to 45 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack set over a rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment paper, and let cake cool 10 to 15 minutes. Invert cake onto rack, then re-invert (so streusel side is up), and let cool completely. Spoon glaze over the cake, letting it drip down sides. Let cake sit until glaze is set, about 5 minutes, before serving.


Only 6 more recipes and 12 more days until Christmas!

Peppermint Bark

I tried this recipe for the first time this year and really loved the results! I've been wanting to make this treat for several years, but never seemed to find the time. I'm glad I made time for it this year. The dark chocolate layer really cuts the sweetness of the white chocolate, and those two layers paired with the crushed peppermint create a perfect little candy!


Peppermint Bark

8 ounces high quality bitterweet chocolate, chopped into small pieces
2 teaspoons solid vegetable shortening, divided
8 ounces high-quality white chocolate, chopped into small pieces
⅛ teaspoon peppermint extract
½ cup candy canes, coarsely crushed

Line a 9x9 inch pan with two pieces of waxed paper, so the paper goes up the sides of the pan on all four sides. Make sure it is smooth and wrinkle free.

Place the bittersweet chocolate and 1 teaspoon of the vegetable shortening in the top of a double boiler over warm water, stirring frequently and scraping down the sides with a rubber spatula to avoid scorching. When the chocolate is completely melted and smooth, pour into the prepared pan. Spread evenly so it covers the bottom of the pan. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of the crushed candy canes evenly over the chocolate layer. Refrigerate until slightly hardened, about 20-30 minutes.

Place the white chocolate and the remaining 1 teaspoon vegetable shortening in the top of a double boiler over warm water, stirring frequently and scraping down the sides with a rubber spatula to avoid scorching. When the white chocolate is melted, stir in the 1/8 teaspoon peppermint extract. Pour the white chocolate over the bittersweet chocolate layer; spread evenly. Sprinkle the remaining crushed candy canes over the top of the white chocolate and gently press in. Refrigerate until completely hardened. Remove from pan; cut or break into small pieces to serve.


Notes: I actually cheated on this when I bought my candy canes already crushed. I was lucky enough to find these:

This version of peppermint bark is quite chocolatey, with a hint of mint. If you like it more minty, increase the peppermint extract in the white chocolate to 1/4 teaspoon. I used Ghirardelli baking chocolate bars for both layers (60% bitterweet and white chocolate baking bar), you can also use semisweet chocolate if you can't find bittersweet. Please look at the ingredients of the white chocolate you buy, if there is no cacao butter, it is not high quality. Hope you like this as much as we do!