Recipe - Peppermint Bars

So Christmas is soon, and all I see are Facebook status updates about how crazy shopping is. Well of course it's crazy - Christmas is in two days! Why do y'all decide to go out and buy things so last minute? Sounds like you'll just be grabbing whatever you can find instead of putting a huge amount of thought into gifts. You should just spend that time making desserts or something. Everyone loves desserts! Here's a recipe adapted from here for peppermint bars that are quite the mintily-refreshing treat. They also look so festive. Yum!

Step 1: Ingredients (yields 12-16 bars)

• 1/4 tsp peppermint extract
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 cup butter, room temperature
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 cup chocolate chips/chunks
• 1 egg
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 4 peppermint candy canes, coarsely chopped
• 8 peppermint candy canes, finely crushed
• 8 drops red food coloring

      Notes:

• Candy canes - this actually was the most time-intensive part of the process because I didn't have any equipment to properly crush the candy canes. I had my brother figure it out, and he basically stuck the end of a glass jar in a bowl to crush the canes. It took a while so make sure you plan accordingly.

Step 2: Making the dough
Preheat oven to 350°F. Cream your butter and sugar together. Beat in the egg, peppermint extract, and food coloring. I ended up having to use 8 drops though the original recipe called for 5. Add your flour and salt until everything is blended together well. Then add in the crushed candy cane.


Step 3: Baking the dough
Grease a 9 x 13 pan. Press the dough evenly into the pan and bake for approximately 25 minutes or until firm. You can chop your other candy canes at this time. I actually just smashed them with the end of a heavy butcher knife.



Step 4: Creating the topping
Remove the pan from the oven when done and immediately put on the chocolate chips or chunks (I used chunks). Cover the entire thing with a cookie sheet for a few minutes until the chocolate has melted. Then spread the chocolate evenly on top.



Step 5: Finishing
If you didn't manage to spread the chocolate super evenly, the candy cane chunks will help hide your mistakes like I did with mine! Sprinkle these on as evenly as possible until you've got a delicious dessert in front of you. Cut when cool and enjoy!