25lb of Chocolate, 16 hours and 800 pieces later....

Sometimes I ask myself why do I put myself through this every year!?! But in the end - I love dipping chocolates. Maybe it's the risk you take when you temper your own chocolate, maybe it's seeing beautiful pieces of chocolate sitting in pretty little boxes, maybe it's the challenge of finding the best peanut butter cup recipe, maybe.. I just like it. 

The varieties each year seem to increase. This year I made: caramels, chocolate covered caramels, turtles, almond joys, peanut butter cups, chocoalte covered peanuts, chocolate covered cinnamon santas, butterfingers, mint sandwiches and peanut butter sandwiches. Every year I experiment with a new recipe- this year I tried mint truffles and white chocolate truffles. Mmmmm- definitely a keeper.

Of course I would love to share all of my recipes but alas- I'm not typing a novel here. so I'm going to share with you my super secret recipe for mint sandwiches. Now these mint sandwiches are amazing and look and taste just like the store bought stuff.  Of course my worst picture was the mint sandwich so you'll have to use your imagination

Mint sandwiches

22 oz milk chocolate (compound chocolate works best)
11 oz green chocolate
peppermint oil (not extract)
cover a jelly roll pan with wax paper

melt 11 oz of chocolate in microwave stirring every 30 seconds. Add 8 drops of peppermint oil and stir. Spread evenly over wax paper with rubber spatula. Pound on counter to remove air bubbles. Let stand until it loses it's shine. repeat process with green and remaining chocolate. Add peppermint oil to each layer. If you wait too long to spread the layers- they won't bond together. As soon as the top layer loses it's shine- the mints are ready to be cut. Don't let them sit too long or they will break unevenly.

Cut 1/4" in on all 4 sides- this is so your outside rows won't have the roundness of the pan. For 88 mints per pan cut 11 rows the long way and 8 rows the other way.

You must try them and see what you think.  You can also use 1/2 C creamy peanut butter with 11 oz white chocolate for a PB Sandwich.

The Gingerbread House

  I just took a class to learn how to make gingerbread houses.  I had no idea how much effort goes into making a gingerbread house. I baked it from scratch, cut it out, assembled it (with a few break downs and broken pieces) made stain glass windows (which is my favorite part- I turn the lights on and dance with joy everytime I go in my kitchen)  If anyone has some time to dedicate to serious gingerbread making let me know and I'll give you the patterns and lessons learned.... 

The details are the fun part- this house come complete with a wood shed (with cinnamon stick wood), mail box (with mail and a blue bird), presents on the porch and around the mail box, Santa on the chimney, candy cane light posts, candles in the windows, a wreath on the door, ribbons on the house, and snow on the trees.