Christmas Treats

I’ve always wanted to try making Christmas themed candies or confections, but I know it’s WAY too much sugar for me to handle by myself. Luckily, my work was doing an “Adopt a Family” thing and we were allowed to send along food gifts, so I got the best of both worlds – I got to make my candy and not feel obliged to eat it all.

Having never made chocolate bark before, I wanted to try it and make it as Christmas-y as possible. Normally I shy away from candy canes (a stick of sugar? No thanks! I’d rather have my sugar in baking or chocolate), but since these weren’t for me, I figured why not? The peppermint bark was especially delicious with the extra mint flavouring from the chocolate.

I wanted to make some kind of fudge, but didn’t have the time or inclination to make “real” fudge with a candy thermometer and temperamental sugar temperatures. So, I chose to make peanut butter fudge, which is incredibly simple. And tasty. I wish I could figure out a way to make it less sweet and healthier – but I guess that’s what the internet is for!

From the small tastings I had, both were incredibly delicious! I would definitely make both again – as long as I have plenty of people to share it with!

Peppermint Bark

1 package of mint flavoured dark chocolate chips (if you can’t find these, normal dark chocolate chips & peppermint flavouring would work)
1 package white chocolate chips
4 – 6 peppermint candy canes

1. Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil (parchment paper would probably work, too).
2. In a microwave safe bowl, melt dark chocolate chips. Pour onto lined cookie sheet and spread out.
3. Place in fridge for 30 minutes or freezer for 15 minutes until solid.
4. Meanwhile, place candy canes in a Ziploc bag and wack with a meat tenderizer or rolling-pin until small-sized chunks.
5. Melt white chocolate chips and spread over the dark layer.
6. Sprinkle with crushed candy canes and put back into the fridge or freezer.
7. Once the bark is hard, remove from fridge/freezer. Peel foil off of bark.
8. To prevent finger marks from getting on the bark, use a piece of foil. Holding edge of the bark in one hand, use a knife to stab at the bark, breaking it into pieces. This will ensure that the break is clean and looks like what broken up bark should.
9. Store in the fridge if you have a warm house. If not, it should be fine being stored on the counter. I wrapped mine up in cellophane wrap tied with a ribbon. They looked pretty cute!
10. Enjoy!

Peanut Butter Fudge
From The Joy of Cooking

1 1/2 c. smooth (non-natural) peanut butter – I used Kraft’s unsweetened peanut butter as this thing has enough sugar in it already!
1 1/2 c. butter
1 tsp. vanilla
Pinch of salt
4 c. icing sugar, sifted

1. Butter an 8×8″ pan.
2. In a medium sauce pan, melt peanut butter and butter together Bring to a boil.
3. Remove from heat and add salt and vanilla extract.
4. Stir in icing sugar until smooth.
5. Pour/scrape into buttered pan and smooth.
6. Cover with plastic wrap and cool in fridge until hard.
7. Slice and enjoy! I wrapped them in wax paper to give away.

What are your favourite Christmas Treats?

Health(ier) Peanut (Not Quite) Brittle

January 26th (Tomorrow) is apparently National Peanut Brittle Day. Who knew? This month’s Go Ahead Honey It’s Gluten Free, hosted by the lovely Lauren of Celiac Teen, is “Follow the Calendar.”  Since I’m a rebel, I decided to try making this a bit early so I could submit it for Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays. (I actually made it on the weekend so I wouldn’t have to cheat on my Daniel Fast but that’s just how I roll.)

I wanted to make a peanut brittle that didn’t have any corn syrup and wasn’t just white sugar, so I based the recipe on Spunky Coconut’s Spiced Almond Brittle, which used agave nectar. Mine was only brittle when it was straight out the freezer as I didn’t use a candy thermometer and I added baking soda at the beginning, so I was unsure on how hard I should boil it. That’s what happens when you don’t follow the recipe 100%.

Health(ier) Peanut Brittle

1 c. agave nectar
1/3 c. coconut oil
1 1/2 c. roasted, unsalted peanuts
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda (optional)

1. Measure agave nectar and coconut oil into a small to medium sized pot. Bring to a boil.
2. Once boiling, add peanuts.
3. Not so brittle way: bring to a simmer (lot of little bubbles) and stir continually for 20 minutes.
   Brittle way: keep boiling/simmering until you’ve reached hard crack temperature. (around 290 – 300F)*
4. Remove from heat and stir in salt and baking soda. If you add the baking soda, it will be very frothy.
5. Pour onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet.
6. Put into freezer for two hours to cool.
7. Once cool, break into pieces. If you made the not-so-brittle version, store in the fridge or else you’ll have very sticky peanut toffee!
8. Enjoy!

Which do you like better: brittle or toffee?

*Note: Since I’m not an expert on sugar and since we’re using agave nectar instead of sugar, the hard crack temperature might be different. If you try this, please let me know how it turns out!

I submitted this recipe to Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays. As usual, the recipes look amazing, so check it out!