Wednesday, December 28, 2011

...Holiday {Winter} S'mores

Inspired by a warm-weather Christmas and a new fire pit at Mary Martha's house, Little Annie concocted an idea: holiday s'mores. Similar to regular campfire s'mores, holiday s'mores have marshmallow, graham crackers, and the smokey flavor of fire. However, what sets these apart from our summertime favorites is the substitution of peppermint bark for the milk chocolate. Hold onto your hats, folks, this is gonna get crazy.


Mary Martha's version: homemade peppermint bark

After Little Annie's suggestion to make holiday s'mores over the new fire pit, Mary Martha stumbled across a BHG recipe for peppermint bark on Pinterest. Success! Holiday s'mores would become a reality!

Ingredients needed: milk chocolate {candy bar or chips work fine}, chocolate candy coating {Wilton's from either a craft store or at the grocery store seasonally}, white candy coating, and white chocolate baking squares {or chips}, and candy canes.


Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil. Melt the milk chocolate with the chocolate candy coating {chop coarsely with a serrated knife first}. Pour into the foil lined pan, smoothing out with a spatula {shake pan if necessary to create an even layer}.



Sorry about the green lighting. We had the festive under-cabinet lights illuminating our handiwork.




Next melt the white chocolate with the white candy coating.
{Note: recipe suggests using a new pan. We did not. This would have ensured the white chocolate stayed white. Ours instead came out a little gray/tan. Taste was not affected.}






Pour the melted white chocolate over the chocolate in the pan. Use a small spatula to swirl them together.


Crush two or three candy canes into smaller pieces {your choice whether you want a fine dusting or some larger chunks}. Warning: do not attempt to smash whole candy canes in a bowl with a wooden spoon. Result below:





Instead, please use this tip from Mary Martha's genius hubby: break candy candes into smaller pieces with hands first, then wrap in a towel or other cloth item {we used a cloth napkin} and smash with a ladle or other utensil.



Result:


Finally, sprinkle candy cane pieces over chocolate.




Chill final product for at least 30 minutes before cutting and enjoying.




Little Annie's version: Ghirardelli peppermint bark squares

As Little Annie says, it doesn't have to be complicated.





Happy Holiday S'mores!


The {winter} fire pit! Photo: Anzur Photography








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