Peppermint goodies...TO GO!

This week has been a week of baking and creating for everyone! My kids LOVE to drop off "goodies" at people's houses! It's the highlight of December every year for them, which is great, because they motivate me to stay busy in the kitchen. How can you ignore..."Mommy, can we take these to other people's houses to share? Can I take it to their door?" So this year I found a few recipes that I really wanted to try out and I couldn't decide which ones I liked best...so we just put them ALL on a plate!

First I made the "Peppermint Bark"...which was probably my favorite to make! It was SUPER simple and took me only about 10 minutes from start to finish! I melted white chocolate chips in the microwave, while that was being melted, I crushed 5 candy canes in a baggy. After the chips were melted, I poured them onto a strip of foil and then sprinkled them with the candy cane pieces! Doesn't it look so festive!?! After a few minute it hardens enough that you can transport it to your freezer. Let it cool for about 3 minutes in the freezer, then remove it from the foil and begin the fun part! Breaking it all apart! It makes a ton and is a super yummy simple gift! You can even try different flavors of candy cane, if you're not a huge "mint" fan!

Then I created my own version of a mint brownie. I couldn't find the Candy Cane Kisses this year:( So instead of those, I used the "Andes Mint" Hershey candies, and instead of making them bite sized...I made them cup cake sized! It probably would have been delicious the other way too...but this is what I did.

I prepared 2 packets of the Costco brownie mix, then filled each cup only about 1/2 way full. Then I added 1 Hershey piece to each cup, and pressed it down just a bit. I then placed them in my preheated oven at 350 degrees for approximately 25-30 minutes. I let them cool competely, then you could just make your own ganache using chocolate chips and cream...but I opted for the super simple, Baker's dipping Milk Chocolate tub. I just popped it in the microvave at 30 second intervals until it became smooth and creamy. Then I just grabbed each brownie/cupcake and dipped it into the chocolate and then sprinkled them with the left over crushed candy canes!