Christmas candy I can make now?

[peainapod]

That will still be good at christmas

 

[tweedlemom]

Peppermint bark

 

[akcire]

Buy pretzels shaped like circles

Buy white chocolate chip Wilton's etc

Buy red green m&ms

Get out a cookie sheet line with parchment paper

Turn oven to 250

Place pretzels on parchment paper

Place one chocolate disk in/on each pretzel

Bake 5 minutes.

Remove from oven and place 1m&m in each pretzel

Let cool

 

[Manders77]

I can't make Christmas Candy or Cookies too early, they don't last. We all eat them.

 

[tripletots]

I can't make Christmas Candy or Cookies too early, they don't last. We all eat them.

This must a Richmond thing. If I bake today, it will be gone tonight!

 

[Scottiesmommy08]

MHMMMM Christmas crack!!

Not sure that it would still be good for the holidays, but it sure would be darn good to eat now. My friends have grown to expect it from me, so I make 1 pan for each family and 2 pans for myself. One to eat while I make theirs and one to actually share with my family Good thing it's fairly cheap to make!




ETA looked at my recipe and it actually recommends freezing up to a month in advance and just letting it thaw the night before you need it. It also says will keep two weeks in the fridge.

 

[maggiew]

William Sonoma Peppermint Bark Copycat Recipe

Just be sure and use the best quality white and semi-sweet, Belgian or bittersweet chocolate for this recipe.

New! Tips for the perfect peppermint bark below!

Peppermint Bark

12 oz chocolate chips
1 pound white chocolate chips
1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract
1/2 cup peppermint candy, crushed

Preheat oven to 250. Line a 9x13 pan with foil, letting it hang over the sides. Spray foil. Pour the chocolate chips in an even layer on the foil. Place in oven for 5 minutes or until almost melted. Remove from oven, smooth with an offset spatula or knife. Place in refrigerator until cold and firm, about 20 minutes.

Melt white chocolate chips in a double boiler or in a metal bowl over simmering water (don’t let bottom of bowl touch water), until chocolate is almost melted. You can use your microwave for this if you’re brave! Remove bowl from water and stir until completely melted, stirring in extract. Let cool a little bit so it doesn’t melt the chocolate layer when you pour it on top. Pour this over chocolate layer, and, working quickly, spread to cover. Sprinkle with crushed candy.

Chill until both layers are firm. Lift foil out of pan and shake off excess candy. Trim edges. Cut into 2” wide strips. Peel bark from foil and cut each strip as desired. Chill in covered container. Makes about 2 pounds.

Tips from Rita's Kitchen for Perfect Bark:

1. Don't make the layers too thin as this can cause the layers to separate.
2. Take the bottom layer out of the frig a few minutes prior to spreading the top layer. Sometimes if the bottom is too cold, the top will set but may not bond completely with the bottom.
3. If there's condensation on the bottom when you remove it from the frig, sometimes this prevents the top from sticking to it, as well.
4. I use white chocolate chips that contain cocoa butter, which are good quality chips. Read the label as the kind of white chocolate you use may affect the bonding. I also use a good quality (Kroger brand) semisweet chocolate chips - again, read labels - the label should say they are real chocolate, not "chocolate flavored". I have used the white and chocolate flavored "barks" that are sold in blocks with success when I make a one layer bark. For multiple layer barks, I like to use real chocolate.
5. Let the bark sit out a few minutes before you try to cut or break it apart.

Note from John, amatuer chef and webmaster, "OK, I admit, I was a bit skeptical. I'm a big fan of William Sonoma peppermint bark. But when I was building the web page for peppermint bark, I had to try it. The Bark recipe is PERFECT. It took me visiting about 4 stores looking for peppermint extract, but it was worth it. I made the bark tonight in no time flat and it is awesome. Making this peppermint bark is delicious and easy. Much easier than a drive to the store for peppermint bark!

This is a great Peppermint Bark Recipe like William Sonoma.

http://www.abouteating.com/peppermint-bark-recipe.shtml

Maggie

 

[Scottiesmommy08]

If you would like the recipe let me know!

 

[PrincessToozie]

Mmmmmm would love the recipe for Christmas Crack

 

[mollymar]

Buy pretzels shaped like circles

Buy white chocolate chip Wilton's etc

Buy red green m&ms

Get out a cookie sheet line with parchment paper

Turn oven to 250

Place pretzels on parchment paper

Place one chocolate disk in/on each pretzel

Bake 5 minutes.

Remove from oven and place 1m&m in each pretzel

Let cool

This sounds great! Can you use the tiny choc chips like Nestles or do they need to be the large specialty ones?

 

[Scottiesmommy08]

1 or so sleeves of Saltine crackers
1 cup of butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 12oz bag of chocolate chips
a few extra crackers or toppings

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Line a cookie sheet with foil or parchment paper ( I give mine a spritz of non stick spray)

Lay crackers out in one layer across the whole cookie sheet ( I break some to fill in the gaps around the edges)

Add butter and brown sugar to a saucepan and bring to a boil

Stir constantly, once butter has completely disappeared and it's a roiling boil, boil another 3 minutes still stirring

Pour mixture over crackers, try to get them all covered

Put in the oven for 5 minutes

Remove from oven and sprinkle with chocolate chips, once they start to melt use rubber spatula to spread evenly around covering the entire area

Now you can get creative with the toppings. I typically just use what I have on hand. My favorite is a few crackers crumbled up and sprinkled on top, perfect amount of salty on the top. I have also used crushed peppermint candy or candy canes, pretzels, various nuts, and M&Ms to pretty it up a bit.

Refrigerate for two or so hours, or until hard and break apart into "bark pieces"

Pig out, great with a cup of coffee. Try to save some for your family.

 

[Fueledbycoffee]

This sounds great! Can you use the tiny choc chips like Nestles or do they need to be the large specialty ones?

It would need to be large enough to "hold" the m&m.

I'm made them with Rolos & they turn out YUMMY!

 

[akcire]

This sounds great! Can you use the tiny choc chips like Nestles or do they need to be the large specialty ones?

As pp said you need large chips so they melt into the entire area if the pretzel void. My husband made them for years by melting the chocolate and putting it in a pastry bag. I just invented, within our house, this lazy no clean up way last year. It is awesomely easy and people think you have worked really hard.

 

[Chelley00]

My recipe calls these Skor Bars. I have a similar recipe for "Ugly Cookies" that uses graham crackers and pecans.

1 or so sleeves of Saltine crackers
1 cup of butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 12oz bag of chocolate chips
a few extra crackers or toppings

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Line a cookie sheet with foil or parchment paper ( I give mine a spritz of non stick spray)

Lay crackers out in one layer across the whole cookie sheet ( I break some to fill in the gaps around the edges)

Add butter and brown sugar to a saucepan and bring to a boil

Stir constantly, once butter has completely disappeared and it's a roiling boil, boil another 3 minutes still stirring

Pour mixture over crackers, try to get them all covered

Put in the oven for 5 minutes

Remove from oven and sprinkle with chocolate chips, once they start to melt use rubber spatula to spread evenly around covering the entire area

Now you can get creative with the toppings. I typically just use what I have on hand. My favorite is a few crackers crumbled up and sprinkled on top, perfect amount of salty on the top. I have also used crushed peppermint candy or candy canes, pretzels, various nuts, and M&Ms to pretty it up a bit.

Refrigerate for two or so hours, or until hard and break apart into "bark pieces"

Pig out, great with a cup of coffee. Try to save some for your family.

 

[PHXscuba]

As pp said you need large chips so they melt into the entire area if the pretzel void. My husband made them for years by melting the chocolate and putting it in a pastry bag. I just invented, within our house, this lazy no clean up way last year. It is awesomely easy and people think you have worked really hard.

I do this with square pretzels, Kisses, and M&Ms. Supereasy and even kids can help.

My fudge recipe freezes well. I make it early and give some away before freezing one pan to get out when my fudge-loving parents are in town.

PHXscuba

 

[phins_jazy]

ok....now i'm hungry

 

[rusty4]

ok....now i'm hungry

Me too!

 

[rusty4]

I bought chips and candy canes for the peppermint bark yesterday without looking up a recipe. I didn't know that I would the extract as well. Ugh! Back to the store I guess today! I bought white and then the dark chocolate chips because that is what we love.

We plan to make chocolate covered strawberries as well. But you cannot make those in advance.

Just found this quote on a review for another bark recipe. Might help someone else who does not have the peppermint extract.

YUMMY!!! I didn't have any mint extract, so when I crushed the candies, I sifted them and took all the crumbs that fell through and melted them with the white chocolate. Then I sprinkled the rest on top and it was delicious!

 

[queenofthehive]

Fudge will keep. I just use the recipe on the Marshmallow Fluff jar. It is easy and comes out good everytime! I store it in a Christmas tin. It will last for weeks.

 

[limace]

I make orange creamsicle fudge that is a fun change. Cream cheese mints. Mom makes chocolate truffles. All of these freeze very well.