{ Peppermint Crunch Bark }

Hello Decemeber, hello Christmas!

I'm SO excited to see you.

Yeah, I have eleventy million things to do, but I loooooooooooove you, and you are finally here!

One of my favorite things to do at Christmas is bake with my awesome friend, Lori and also with my boy. Lori and I make trays of treats for teachers, neighbors, family members, and other friends. It's always an exhausting but great day. Together we make what could be a chore into a great time! Love me some Lori time!  Bean loves to make Buckeyes and Cake Balls, so we always do that together. Also, rolled and decorated sugar cookies because what is more Christmas than that? The boy LOVES traditions, and I love that.

I know that Peppermint Bark has been done and done again, but this is just a wee bit different.

This adds a layer of Andes Peppermint Crunch chips in the middle. I love the flavor it gives, but even more, I love the color. It makes a classic, lovely Christmas treat just that much better.

Isn't the red festive? I'm pretty smitten.

These are totally going on the Christmas trays this year!

Delicious, easy, and inexpensive to pack little boxes up as gifts for friends, family, co-workers, etc!

Tina



Peppermint Crunch Bark
by Tina @ Sugar Bean Bakers

6 ounces white chocolate*
6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate*
6 ounces Andes Peppermint Crunch chips
2 candy canes, crushed
1 Tablespoon white sanding sugar
1 Tablespoon red sanding sugar


*Chips work great, but for even better flavor, use a higher quality chocolate, chopped into small pieces


Add crushed candy canes & sanding sugars to a small bowl and set aside.

For instructions on melting chocolate, follow this link: How to Melt Chocolate.

Line a baking pan with parchment paper. Melt semi-sweet chocolate. Pour onto pan and spread out. Tap on counter to remove any bubbles. Allow to harden by placing in the fridge (about 20 mins) or freezer (about 10 minutes).

Melt Peppermint Crunch. Pour on top of the hardened chocolate layer. Tap to remove bubbles. Return to fridge/freezer to harden.

Melt white chocolate layer. Spread on top of Peppermint Crunch layer. Tap to remove bubbles. Immediately top with crushed candy cane/sugar mixture.

Allow to fully harden. Cut or break into pieces. Store in airtight container.

Makes approx 1 1/2 pounds

This can be made in any quantity as long as the chocolate/Peppermint Crunch portions are even (adjust candy canes accordingly).

You can add a bit of peppermint extract if you wish, if you prefer it a bit more pepperminty. I like the mild peppermint flavor that the Peppermint Crunch adds.

{Soft Peppermint Sugar Cookies}

I know what you are thinking. You think I've lost my mind. "Christmas was LAST month, Tina!". I can hear you all now.

I know, I know, but I had all these leftover candy canes. Surely I'm not the only one?

Who made up the rule that peppermint is only a Christmas treat anyway? I say NUH UH.

I'm a big fan of all things minty, as long as they aren't TOOOO minty. I like mild mint. That's a thing right? Like mild salsa? If not, it should be. Tic Tacs, yes. Starlite mints, yes. Altoids, no.

My hubs is a big fan of mints too. A couple Christmases ago, he even came up with the idea of rolling Snickerdoodles in candy canes instead of cinnamon sugar. You can see those cookies here. The day after Christmas, he saw the pile of candy canes on the kitchen counter and asked if I could make some peppermint cookies. Normally I do this every year. This year, as I posted about, was CUH-RAY-ZEE for me, so I didn't get them made. I kept thinking I'd get them made, but days turned into weeks, and then.... suddenly it's late January.

While we were snowed in this weekend, I finally got around to it. I used a basic sugar cookie dough, added crushed candy canes (starlite mints will work too!), iced with buttercream, and topped with more crushed canes and some coarse sugar.

Easy and oh so yum.

I don't even care it's January. If you make them, you won't either. Sugar cookie goooooooood. Buttercream goooooooood. Peppermint goooooooood.

Peppermint Sugar Cookies? Goooooooood.

Eat up, my friends.

Tina



Peppermint Sugar Cookies


Cookies:
adapted from Bakingdom's Sugar Cookie Recipe

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter, softened
1 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoons vanilla
2 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoons salt
2 crushed candy canes or 6 starlite mints

Buttercream Icing:
slightly adapted from Bakingdom

1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cups confectioners’ sugar
pinch teaspoon salt
1-2 tablespoons heavy cream
1 teaspoons vanilla extract


Topping:

1 crushed candy cane or 3 starlite mints
2 teaspoons of coarse sugar



For the cookies:

Mix together flour, salt, and baking powder in a bowl and put aside. In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar together with mixer. Add eggs one at a time and beat until combined. Add in the vanilla. Pour the flour mixture in, a little at a time, until it is mixed thoroughly. Mix in the 2 crushed candy canes. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and chill for at least two hours (or overnight).

While rolling, preheat oven to 400. Prepare baking sheet with silpat, parchment, or ungreased.

Roll the chilled dough out on a floured surface. For these, I rolled the dough to about 1/4" so they would be soft and fat. Cut to desired shapes with cookie cutters. Dust off excess flour with pastry brush before baking.

Bake for 10 minutes, or until edges just begin to brown. Allow to cool before icing.


For the Buttercream Icing:
Beat butter with mixer for 3 minutes. Slowly add in sugar & pinch of salt and beat until combined. Pour in 1 tablespoon of heavy cream. Beat for 4 minutes until light and fluffy. If too thick, add more cream, a little at a time. Stir in vanilla.

Spread on cooled cookies.

For the topping:
Mix together, sprinkle on top of iced cookies