Easy Peppermint Bark Recipe

A gal in my Sunday afternoon Bible study brought peppermint bark to class last week.  I am a HUGE fan of peppermint, and immediately began thinking about how I could make something similar, minus the partially hydrogenated oils and traces of peanuts/tree nuts.  After studying some simple recipes online, I came up with mine.  Here is what you will need for a small, "beginner's" batch:

4 ounces finely chopped hard peppermint candy
8 ounces white chocolate morsels
1 drop peppermint extract

2 ziptop bags
hammer or rolling pin + hard surface
double boiler
silicone spatula
small cookie sheet lined with parchment paper

Step 1: Gather 4 ounces of hard peppermint candy, preferably ones that contain real peppermint oil.

 

 

Step 2:  Place peppermint candy inside one ziptop bag; close, then place inside another ziptop bag, and close.  Use a hard surface and hammer or rolling pin for breaking the candy into very small pieces. 

 

 

 





Step 3:  Measure out 8 ounces of white chocolate morsels.  Most bags nowadays weigh less than 16 ounces, which is why I chose an even half pound to start with.  The remaining morsels can be used in cookies, or for snacking!

Step 4:  Prepare double boiler by boiling water in bottom pot.  I used a tempered glass bowl set in the top of my glass saucepan.  Add the white chocolate morsels.  As they melt, stir with a silicone spatula until smooth.

Step 5:  Add one drop of peppermint extract, then the chopped peppermint candy.  Stir until well combined.

Step 6: Pour  mixture onto small cookie sheet that is lined with parchment paper.  Spread thinly, but not so much that you can see the parchment paper through the mixture.

Step 7:  Place cookie sheet in freezer, until mixture sets.  Remove bark from freezer, break into pieces, and place in lidded container.  Store in refrigerator.

Step 8:  Enjoy!

Graham Cracker Gingerbread Houses

No one in our little family of three has ever built a gingerbread house!  This means we had a new-to-us activity for the holiday season of 2012.  I quickly discovered that most gingerbread kits at the store have peanut/tree nut warnings, and contain ingredients we would prefer not to consume.  I felt overwhelmed when I thought about baking homemade gingerbread cookie dough for the houses AND our annual gingerbread men on Christmas Eve.   Besides, we weren't planning to eat the houses; just create and decorate them.  Therefore, I needed to come up with something a bit more "disposable".

An outdated box of graham crackers called to me from our pantry stash in the front hall closet.  I looked up a few how-to videos online for graham cracker houses, and soon we were on our way to creating our little "gingerbread" village. 

The websites I read recommended "gluing" the base crackers with icing to foil.  This helped to keep the structure steady.  Did you know that graham crackers can be cut using a serrated knife? We found this to be helpful when creating angles.

Placing the icing in a ziptop bag with a corner cut off makes the construction of walls and application of candy super easy.  We used Bottle Caps and Sixlets, leftover from Halloween!

 

 

My husband created some fancy scalloping with the icing on the roof of his house. 

 

 

 

Both "boys" enjoyed this impromptu holiday activity, while I had fun taking photos of their progress. 

 

Here is the recipe for Shiny Cookie Icing.  *note:  It does NOT taste good, so don't plan on eating it, just use it for "glue"!

 

In a bowl, combine:

 

2 cups confectioner's sugar

4 teaspoons light corn syrup

4 teaspoons milk (we used plain rice milk)

 

Stir until smooth, then pour into a ziptop bag.  Cut one corner off the bag, and use to pipe icing.

 



 

 

 



My Latest Craft Store Shopping Deals!!!

I am experiencing scrapbook paper and bakeware euphoria this weekend!

Michaels just released several new stacks under the DCWV and Recollections labels.  On Thursday, I drove to our nearest Michaels (about 20 minutes away), hoping to purchase several new stacks, using gift cards I received for my birthday.  Unfortunately, the only new paper in stock was the DCWV Edumacation stack (upper left corner of photo).  It contains super cute papers for scrapbooking my son's school pages.  I eagerly bought it, using a 50% coupon I had printed from the Michaels website.  A gal working at the store told me they get a truck on Fridays, and to call back in the afternoon to find out if the other stacks arrived.  I did call the store on Saturday, and was told that the DCWV new Lodge stack (top right corner of photo) had arrived, but not the one with a shelf label of "Wooden Whimsy".  I decided to drive out to the store anyway, and am very glad I did! Armed with more printed 50% coupons, I was able to purchase the new Lodge stack, AND the stack with the same skew number as "Wooden Whimsy".  It is actually called Today Tomorrow Forever, by Recollections (bottom left corner of photo).  Both stacks will come in handy for scrapbooking our cabin stay pages. 

Our next stop was JoAnn's, using a combination of store sales and coupons.  I bought another new DCWV stack called Gilded Orchard (bottom right corner of photo).  The papers will go perfectly with our apple picking photos from last Fall.  The stack was 40% off, and I was able to use a 15% coupon on top of that! I also purchased two sets of silicone fluted pans (think mini bundt), using 40% coupons for each of them, plus the addition 15% off. 

I plan to use the pans in November, when I host a decorated table, and bake individual cakes for our church's annual ladies event of Advent by Candlelight.  

I will enjoy using these items, especially since I know I saved money while purchasing them!

$3 organic chicken coupon! Valid only in Georgia

 This coupon is good for $3 off your purchase of Springer Mountain Farms fresh tray pack or whole chicken.  It is valid only in the state of Georgia, and redeemable at Publix.   When I printed a coupon, the expiration date appeared as July 6, 2012.   When I tried to print another, a message appeared, stating "You have already printed this barcode".  A few days later, I again visited the above provided link, and I was able to print another coupon! Enjoy your savings, and healthy, organic chicken!

Today is my birthday!

Today is my birthday!!!  When the calendar indicates the annual anniversary of your entrance into the world, do you experience a sense of excitement, or dread? Will you make special plans to celebrate the day, or carry on "business as usual"?

I think that being a parent helps to make the holidays and birthdays fun and exciting.  Many lessons, such as math, reading, time management, and thoughtfulness, can be learned through meal planning, activity selections, and gift giving. 

In our home, the birthday person selects the meals for the day.  Today, we will enjoy some of my favorites: pumpkin pancakes for breakfast, a salad with pasta for lunch, and dinner at our local Chinese restaurant.  I saw these adorable butterfly cupcakes a few years ago, and helped my son to prepare a variation of them for a Cub Scout meeting.  I decided that I would like these for my birthday dessert today, so preparing them will be a "craft" activity for the afternoon.

My son receives a weekly allowance.  He can spend 50% of it, but the other 50% is distributed in this manner: 10% tithe, 20% short term savings, and 20% long term savings.  The short term savings are for gift giving, and the long term savings are for the vehicle he hopes to purchase in the future.  In April, my son saw a new Webkinz hummingbird at the store.  He purchased it for me, knowing that I love hummingbirds, and he enjoys playing Webkinz games online.  His thoughtfulness regarding my birthday spilled into last night, when he searched online for a personalized birthday message, then surprised me with it being on the computer screen.

This year, my birthday will be simple, yet special, because it will include some of my favorite foods, activities, and the two most important guys in my life!

Hamentaschen Cookies

Chag Sameach! Happy Purim! Today, many people around the world are reading from the Book of Esther.  The story is about a brave woman who risked her life by telling the king that a certain man planned to annihilate her people.  The tradition on Purim is to read the entire Book of Esther, and boo, hiss, and make a lot of noise when the "bad guy's" name is mentioned.  Another way of drowning out the evil man's name as it is read is to swing a gragger, which is a ratchet-style noisemaker.  My son and I created a quick impromptu gragger today using a small plastic lidded bowl filled with jingle bells.  The villian in the story wore a tri-cornered hat, so the custom on this holiday is to make triangular-shaped sugar cookies called hamentaschen.  They are filled with fruit preserves, such as prune, apricot, or raspberry.  This year, I changed things up a bit and made a chocolate sugar cookie dough.  We filled the centers with red and black raspberry preserves.  

Hamentaschen are very easy to make.  Simply whip up a batch of your favorite sugar cookie dough, roll it out, and cut circles from it.  We used a drinking glass to create the circles.  Place the dough circles on a greased cookie sheet.  Fill the centers of each dough circle with a small dollop of your favorite fruit preserves.  Flip up the dough sides to create three flaps, and pinch them where they meet each other.  Bake at 350F for approximately 15 minutes, about the same time it would take to bake decorated sugar cookies.  Cool on a wire rack, then enjoy!

Pancake Week

It has been brought to my attention that today is Shrove or Fat Tuesday, during Pancake Week! My research indicates the tradition of consuming pancakes during this time period originated many years ago.  The reason that many folks around the world continue to carry on this practice during the days leading up to the Lenten season is due to the ingredients they may soon be choosing to give up, which include butter, eggs, and milk.  Since my pancakes are vegan, every week in my house can be Pancake Week! I have also figured out a way to make Kosher for Passover pancakes, so it looks like no matter the holiday, we won't be giving up our favorite staple food. 

In honor of Pancake Week, and with respect to those observing the Lenten season, I have included a photo of my homemade vegan pumpkin pancakes, with a side of dairy whipped cream.