Baking Days

With this cold and snowy weather, we have been doing some Christmas baking. On Wednesday, Emily and I made Peanut Butter Blossoms...yummy...She helped me mix the ingredients, roll the dough into balls, and then put Hersey kisses on each cookie. This batch makes a TON of cookies and so I was suprised that she stuck with me through it all! And, don't you just love the sight of cookies, all lined up neatly in-a-row??? Delicious AND organized! (Yes, I realize I'm a big nerd.)

Then today, we made some Peppermint Bark. This was the first time I'd tried this, and it turned out to be fun for the kids. Here is what you need:

*hard peppermint candies, crushed (1 lb was too much, next time we'll crush about 1/4 of it)
*1-1 1/2 lbs white chocolate chips
*1 cup puffed rice cereal (aka Rice Crispies)
*1 double boiler (the one pictured is on-loan to me from my mom; it was my grandma's, isn't it cute?!)
*1 little boy (or girl) who likes to use a hammer!

Here is what you do:

Crush candies and set aside. Line cookie sheet with wax paper. Place white chocolate into double boiler and heat, stirring occasionally, until smooth (4-5 min). Remove from heat and stir in cereal.
Pour mixture into lined cookie sheet; use a spatula to spread evenly to 1/4 inch thick. Sprinkle with desired amount of crushed candy. Cover with wax paper and press candy gently in.
Chill in freezer until firm (about 20-25 min). No more or candy will become soft. Peel off wax paper. Break apart into pieces. Store at room temperature.

I got this recipe from a Munch and Mingle that I'd gone to. There was not a name on the recipe, so I'm not sure who to give credit to. It turned out pretty good (like I said, I think we used too much peppermint) but Christian had a great time crushing them!