Sunday, December 9, 2007

Hard Candy Christmas (Peppermint Bark Recipe)

The Christmas Cookie exchange at Becca, JPop and Leslie's was a blast and, as promised, I'm sharing my super easy and delicious submission. The other half of the plate is almond toffee with bittersweet chocolate on top- you can find that recipe here. For now, the Addison's Peppermint Bark, courtesy of my mom who apparently also used to do cookie exchanges with her friends when she was a crazy twenty-something in Old Town Alexandria. Tremendous thanks go out to Cam who acted as co-chef and is responsible to the far-higher photo quality than my cell phone or laptop has been producing.
Are y'all so sick of my Christmas tree yet? I kinda was (on behalf of my TKTC alter ego) so I decided to stand on my coffee table instead. I really love the moments I realize I live by myself and can do whatever the hell I want. Just then I almost ran to jump on my bed, abandoning my post altogether, but then I remembered that I actually made my bed this morning. Adult it is. Peppermint Bark
16 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped (I used Ghiradelli)
1/2 tsp.. peppermint extract, divided
16 ounces white chocolate, chopped
3/4 cup chopped candy canesLine a 11 x 17 baking sheet with foil. Melt dark chocolate in a double boiler, add 1/4 tsp of extract, spread in pan and chill 1 hour. Melt white chocolate, add remaining extract and chopped candy. Spread over chilled dark layer and chill 4 hours or overnight. Refrigerate until just before serving. Will keep in fridge 5 - 6 weeks.

Title lyrics go to none other than "Hard Candy Christmas" by Dolly Parton. I think this may be the first non-Raffi song I knew totally by heart. Yipes.

As for the party- it was just so much fun. Everybody all dolled up and alot of my favorite people just hanging out. Even made some new friends and as I walked around from tray to tray, girls were talking politics, marketing, products, boys, adventures and careers. It was awesome.

2 comments:

Christy Lou Who said...

I love that you stood on your coffee table for that aerial view. Way to go the extra mile for the shot (or being willing to be an adult and little kid in the same though process, of which I am also a big fan)!

TKTC said...

Thanks! It's kind of fun to get the view from up there and it didn't collapse which made me feel a little better about eating all of that peppermint bark.