Christmas Candies!

Making Christmas cookies is one of my favorite ways to enjoy the holiday season, especially because my goofy, wonderful husband and I have a tendency to be really silly, dancing around the kitchen and turning cookie making into a full-on event. This year, though, we thought we'd also give Christmas candies a try, and we have Food Network to thank for this brilliant idea. On a recently aired episode of Guy Fieri's Diners, Drive-ins and Dives, Guy helped a master candy maker at Disney World make candy canes from scratch. It was amazing to see all the steps that go into hand-crafting those delicious treats, and I was particularly fascinated watching Guy and his mentor pull the dough on the candy hook, stretching it like taffy, and then modeling it so that the strips of red and green could be worked in. I love candy canes but am, like most people, familiar with the really inexpensive, industrially produced kind. It was a revelation to see the craftsmanship that went into making the ones at Disney. My husband and I were inspired to try making some candy at home, but even though we appreciated everything that went into making candy canes, that seemed just a tad too intense to try at home. Plus, we're busy spending all our money buying people presents, so there's not a lot floating around to buy candy-making equipment (not to mention that I have no idea where I'd put a candy hook in my tiny kitchen).

When my December issue of the Food Network magazine came in the mail, I found the perfect solution in their edible gifts section. We modified one of the recipes they included to make our very own delicious and very festive peppermint bark. It was inexpensive to make, especially since I saw a tin of the exact same stuff at Trader Joe's for $9.99. It is also really easy since, unlike cookies, you don't have to work in batches, and the whole process is pretty quick from start to the hardening stage. It's also easy enough that you can make it with kids (or very child-like adults) as your special helpers.

First, finely chop 12 oz. of semi-sweet chocolate. You can also use chocolate chips for this part, in which case you do not need to chop them. I actually used both chips and chopped pieces of chocolate since I had a bit of both in the pantry already. You will need another 4 oz. of chocolate in a little while and should have it handy, so if you're chopping, chop another 4 oz. now and set it aside.

Next, you need 1 c. of broken peppermint pieces. Even after my rhapsodizing about the craftsmanship of candy canes, we bought some of the cheap ones and smashed them...but I'd never do that to the hand-made ones--honest! You can use starlight mints or candy canes. Just put them in a large plastic bag, place on a sturdy flat surface, and roll over them with a rolling pin. This will cause some initial breakage but won't actually get the pieces small enough, so once you've exhausted what you can do with the rolling pin, give them a whack with a hammer. No, I'm not kidding. See?

Once your candy pieces are ready, melt the chocolate. You have three choices here: microwave, double boiler, or in a saucepan. I just did mine in a saucepan, stirring constantly and watching closely, and I'm pleased to say that it didn't scorch. While the chocolate is melting, melt 1 T. vegetable shortening. Once the chocolate is melted, add the 1 t. melted shortening and then stir in the additional 4 oz. of chocolate. If you'd like a mintier bark, you can add some peppermint extract here (I didn't do so but would next time around--I'd go with 1/8-1/4 tsp).

When the mixture has melted and is smooth, use a spatula to spread it on a parchment-paper lined cookie sheet. Sprinkle the candy mixture on top, pressing down to make sure larger pieces adhere.

Allow the candy to harden. I needed to leave mine overnight, so I just covered it with plastic wrap and stuck it in a cold oven...just don't forget it's in there the next day! Once the candy is hard, break it into pieces. Don't worry about it being uniform--that's not the point (and not really possible, either).

Your peppermint bark is now ready to enjoy, or to give as an edible gift.