Michelle 7How to Use Up Those Leftover Candy Canes
December 30th 2007 04:07
So it's what, 5 days after Christmas? That oh-so-unfestive time of year when you've still got the tree up but probably don't bother to put on the lights anymore. Are you, perhaps, still burnt out from all the pre-Christmas baking? Me, I'm just bored enough to start experimenting with creative ways to get rid of the Christmas leftovers. Starting with candy canes - nothing could be Christmassier, true, but the truth is I don't really like them all that much. Well, not in their plain, naked state, that is. They're actually kind of boring like that. Luckily, there are a few things you can do with them that are fun and tasty.
One thing that may seem a little weird is using them to suck the juice out of lemons. No, seriously, this is the kind of thing that people do at county fairs in...um, states I've never lived in. I mean, I've heard that people do do it, so I tried it, and I liked it. Turns out you're actually supposed to use those soft kind of peppermint sticks that are sold as "old fashioned", but I find that it's a lot more fun (if more challenging) to use a regular Christmas candy cane. You just cut a little hole in the top of the lemon skin (or cut the lemon in half), break the candy cane until it makes an appropriate-length straw, and start sucking. Eventually the acid lemon juice will actually hollow out the candy cane, which is pretty cool in a weird sort of way.
But what if you don't care for sucking on lemons? (Bet you don't have 3 Grinch shirts in your wardrobe, either.) Or what if-crazy thought-you actually wanted to see something more like a recipe on this so-called recipe blog? Okay, okay. Here goes with the recipe. My own invention, created for my sister who did claim to like it, although my 4-year-old niece was somewhat less enthusiastic. (She prefers Dora the Explorer watermelon-flavored candy canes, which would taste just lousy with this.)
Peppermint Bark Pretzels
* 1 box of pretzel rods
* 1 12-oz. bag white chocolate chips
* 4 or more full-sized candy canes (peppermint ones)
First you get to do the fun part - take a hammer and whack those candy canes up good. You don't want too many big chunks, more like peppermint chips and some powder. Set these aside in a shallow dish.
Melt the chocolate chips, either over a double boiler or in the microwave. You want to try to have them in a fairly deep container (like maybe one of those glass measuring cups if you're microwaving) so as to make the dipping process easier.
Dip the pretzel rods about 3/4 of the way into the melted chocolate, then hold them until they stop dripping but are still sticky. Sprinkle the smashed peppermint all over the chocolate part, then let the chocolate-peppermint pretzels harden in the refrigerator on a plate covered with waxed paper.
A few caveats - if you substitute Starlight mints for the candy canes, these little suckers are really hard to smash. According to my sister, if you do it with a hammer it will leave dents in the floor. According to me, if you do it with a can of Spaghetti-os (my son eats these! I hate them) you will end up with serious dents in the can, a few in your hand, and really large candy chunks. Also the first time I made these I used a leftover white chocolate bunny instead of the chocolate chips, and it didn't want to melt without giving me trouble. Darn bunny. That's what I get for trying to mix my holidays, I guess.
Okay, maybe that wasn't quite recipe-ish enough for you. I promise something with actual tsps. and tbsps. in it tomorrow.
One thing that may seem a little weird is using them to suck the juice out of lemons. No, seriously, this is the kind of thing that people do at county fairs in...um, states I've never lived in. I mean, I've heard that people do do it, so I tried it, and I liked it. Turns out you're actually supposed to use those soft kind of peppermint sticks that are sold as "old fashioned", but I find that it's a lot more fun (if more challenging) to use a regular Christmas candy cane. You just cut a little hole in the top of the lemon skin (or cut the lemon in half), break the candy cane until it makes an appropriate-length straw, and start sucking. Eventually the acid lemon juice will actually hollow out the candy cane, which is pretty cool in a weird sort of way.
But what if you don't care for sucking on lemons? (Bet you don't have 3 Grinch shirts in your wardrobe, either.) Or what if-crazy thought-you actually wanted to see something more like a recipe on this so-called recipe blog? Okay, okay. Here goes with the recipe. My own invention, created for my sister who did claim to like it, although my 4-year-old niece was somewhat less enthusiastic. (She prefers Dora the Explorer watermelon-flavored candy canes, which would taste just lousy with this.)
Peppermint Bark Pretzels
* 1 box of pretzel rods
* 1 12-oz. bag white chocolate chips
* 4 or more full-sized candy canes (peppermint ones)
First you get to do the fun part - take a hammer and whack those candy canes up good. You don't want too many big chunks, more like peppermint chips and some powder. Set these aside in a shallow dish.
Melt the chocolate chips, either over a double boiler or in the microwave. You want to try to have them in a fairly deep container (like maybe one of those glass measuring cups if you're microwaving) so as to make the dipping process easier.
Dip the pretzel rods about 3/4 of the way into the melted chocolate, then hold them until they stop dripping but are still sticky. Sprinkle the smashed peppermint all over the chocolate part, then let the chocolate-peppermint pretzels harden in the refrigerator on a plate covered with waxed paper.
A few caveats - if you substitute Starlight mints for the candy canes, these little suckers are really hard to smash. According to my sister, if you do it with a hammer it will leave dents in the floor. According to me, if you do it with a can of Spaghetti-os (my son eats these! I hate them) you will end up with serious dents in the can, a few in your hand, and really large candy chunks. Also the first time I made these I used a leftover white chocolate bunny instead of the chocolate chips, and it didn't want to melt without giving me trouble. Darn bunny. That's what I get for trying to mix my holidays, I guess.
Okay, maybe that wasn't quite recipe-ish enough for you. I promise something with actual tsps. and tbsps. in it tomorrow.
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