Tasty Tuesday: peppermint obsession, anyone?

Here's a compilation of all things peppermint for this Tasty Tuesday!

First up, the old faithful peppermint bark. So. stinkin'. good. And easy too... 

(source)

The Ingredients:

• 1 package (12 oz) of white chocolate chips
• 24 peppermint candies
• 1 tsp peppermint extract or a few drops of peppermint oil (optional)

The Directions:

Line a baking sheet with waxed paper. 

Unwrap candies & put them in a ziplock bag. Wrap in a towel & smash repeatedly until candies are crushed (this is a great way to relieve holiday stress, by the way :). Or you can put them in a food processor, but that's not as much fun.

Microwave white chocolate chips for 45 seconds. Stir. Continue microwaving & stirring at 15-second intervals until completely melted & smooth.

Pour the crushed candies into a strainer while holding it over the melted chocolate. Shake the stainer until you've sifted out the larger pieces. Put the larger peppermint pieces aside. Add a few drops of peppermint extract or oil if desired. Stir chocolate. 

Spread chocolate into baking pan. Sprinkle with reserved larger candy pieces & press lightly. Let it stand for about 1 hour or until firm. Break into pieces. Store in airtight container at room temperature.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And while you're making peppermint bark, you could just go ahead & do a batch of peppermint popcorn...

(source)

The Ingredients:

• Same as above (white chocolate chips & peppermint candies)
• 1 tsp peppermint extract or a few drops of peppermint oil
• 2 bags of microwave popcorn, popped

The Directions:

Follow the instructions for peppermint bark above to melt chocolate & stir in crushed peppermint. Add oil or extract. Pour chocolate/peppermint over popcorn & stir until well-coated. Spread on wax paper until hardened.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Or you might want to give these peppermint sugar cookie bars a try... 

The Ingredients for the cookies:

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

2 cups sugar

4 eggs

2 tsp vanilla extract

5 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 cup crushed or chopped after-dinner butter mints

The Ingredients for the frosting:

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1/2 tsp peppermint extract

pinch of salt

4 cups powdered sugar

2 to 4 tbsp milk

Red food coloring, if desired

1/2 cup crushed peppermints or candy canes

The Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease a large 11x17 pan. Line with parchment paper & grease paper as well. Set aside

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, salt & baking soda. 

With an electric mixer, cream butter & sugar until light & fluffy (about 3 minutes). Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add in vanilla. Add in flour mixture, mixing until just combined. Stir in butter mints.

Spread batter evenly in prepared pan. Bake until light golden brown & a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean (about 20-25 minutes). Transfer to wire rack to cool completely. 

While cookie is cooling, make frosting. With an electric mixer, beat butter until fluffy (about 3 minutes). Add peppermint extract & salt. Add powdered sugar, a little at a time, beating until well-combined. Add milk a tablespoon at a time until frosting is smooth & fluffy. Add a few drops of food coloring if desired. 

Spread frosting over cooled cookie & sprinkle with crushed peppermints. Cut into bars (makes 32 bars).

(Click here for source). 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And finally, we have peppermint eggnog... 

(source)

The Ingredients:

• eggnog
• peppermint candies, finely crushed
• peppermint sticks
• peppermint extract or oil

The Directions:

Wet the edge of your mug & dip in crushed peppermints. Pour eggnog & add a few drops of extract or oil (remember that oil is MUCH stronger tasting than extract). Sprinkle peppermint on top & add a peppermint stick.