home made peppermint patties

Yes, these are what you think they are! Homemade peppermint patties, ahhhhh my life is complete. A few years back I went through a major Yorke phase where I would buy the large patties and break off a little piece like every hour, just to make sure that I could enjoy a little taste of heaven all day long! Wow, that kind of sounds crazy looking back? Oh well. When I came across this recipe I knew I had to try it! Pretty simple and incredibly successful, you will blow people's minds with these. . .

 

Make sure to grab a little helper if you have one :)

Delicious peppermint filling is inside of this cute little package!

Don's place your patties on a cooling rack like I did! I don't know what I was thinking?! When I went to pick them up their bottoms stuck to the rack. No good! I ended up re-dunking them in chocolate to cover up that little mistake. . .

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups confectioners sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons light corn syrup
2 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon peppermint extract
1 tablespoon vegetable shortening
8 ounces 70% cacao bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1/4 cup peppermint candies, crushed

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat 2 1/4 cups of confectioners sugar together with corn syrup, water, peppermint extract and vegetable shortening until just combined.  The mixture will be very crumbly.  Dust a work surface with remaining 1/4 cup of confectioners sugar.  Empty contents of bowl onto work surface and knead until smooth (this will take a few minutes).  Shape dough into a log, about 2 inches by 8 inches long.  Wrap tightly in parchment paper and freeze until very firm, about 20 minutes.

Remove dough and slice into rounds using a sharp knife.  Place rounds onto a parchment lined cookie sheet and freeze again until firm, for at least 15 minutes.

While dough is chilling, melt chocolate in a microwave safe bowl in 30 second intervals.  Cool slightly.  Chocolate should be warm but not so hot that you cannot put your finger into it. 

Cover another baking sheet with parchment paper.  Remove patties from freezer one at a time and submerge into melted chocolate (we just used our hands).  Coat quickly and allow excess chocolate to drip off.  Place on parchment paper lined pan and sprinkle with crushed candies. Repeat, covering all patties with chocolate and candy.

Let patties stand until chocolate is set, about 1 hour.  Store in fridge, between wax paper in an airtight container.  Bring to room temperature before serving.

recipe by: blue eyed bakers

when life hands you a lemon. . .

Pucker up party people! These bite size delights will be a hit with your family and friends, I promise! I brought a batch of them to the shop for our customers and the platter was empty by noon. Success! My husband was really bummed that I didn't save him one, oops. That just means I am going to have to make them again very soon. Plus, the sugary, lemon aroma that fills the house as you are baking them is beyond mouth watering! Enjoy.

Lemon Sugar Cookies

3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted

1/2 cup sugar

1 large egg

1 tablespoon vanilla

3 tablespoon fresh squeezed lemon juice

1 teaspoon lemon zest

2 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg, vanilla, lemon juice, and lemon zest and mix until combined.

In a separate mixing bowl, mix together flour, baking soda, and salt. Incorporate flour mixture into butter mixture and mix until just combined, don't over mix.

Spoon dough onto your cookie sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes or until the edges are just starting to turn golden brown. Top cooled cookies with lemon glaze and a raspberry.

Lemon Glaze 

1 1/2 cups confectioners sugar

juice of 1 lemon

1/4 teaspoon lemon zest

1/4 teaspoon vanilla

Combine all ingredients in mixing bowl and mix to combine. Add more lemon juice if necessary to achieve glaze consistency. 

recipe provided by Kelsey Nixon

recipe :: vegan chocolate cake

Who doesn't love chocolate cake?? This recipe is for the most amazing vegan chocolate cake that I have EVER had!! You would never know that it is dairy free. I hosted a girls' night at my place and knew that I wanted to make this delicious treat for my friends. I served it with wine, fresh sliced strawberries, and a sprinkle of powdered sugar to make it even more irresistible. . . make this for your next get together or party!!

Chocolate Cake

1 1/2 cups unbleached flour

1 cup sugar

3 tbs dutch cocoa powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp vanilla extract

5 tbs vegetable oil

1 cup cold water

1 tbs white vinegar

1/2 cup vegan chocolate chips

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees

Mix together flour, sugar, cocoa, and baking soda. 

Next, add the oil, vanilla, and water, mix well, add the vinegar last. 

Blend until creamy. Pour the batter into a greased 8x8 or 9x9 inch pan (I used a round spring form pan) and sprinkle the chocolate chips on top of the batter.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until center is done. 

Allow to cool then add chocolate frosting.

Home Made Chocolate Frosting 

3 tbs dutch cocoa powder (or 3oz unsweetened chocolate)

2 tsp vegan margarine

1/4 cup hot water or heated ricemilk

1 tsp vanilla extract

2+ cups of powdered sugar

Over low heat, melt the margarine + cocoa together. Add water + vanilla. Remove from heat and stir in the sugar until the frosting gets thick and creamy. 

(recipe from the amazing cookbook Rabbit Food. I bought mine from Anthropologie!!)

homemade snickers recipe

Road trips mean. . . quality family time, listening to inspiring playlists, and stuffing your face full of crazy snacks without feeling guilty! This year, our annual trip to the mountains meant me bringing the "treats" to a whole new level. So I hit up the never ending world of discovery that is Pinterest and got my baking juices flowing. When I stumbled upon the recipe for homemade snickers bars, I knew that I had found the motherload. The ingredients were simple and the recipe seemed easy. . . 2 hours later, I had in my hand the world's most gooey, chocolate-y, and caramel-icous insanity that we call SNICKERS. The natural ingredients made these irresistibly fresh goodies even better than the Mars brand in the wrapper. Make these for your next trip, dinner party, or holiday get together! Even that "i am not really a chocolate person" will be begging you for more. . .

*makes one 9×13 pan ( i used 2 smaller pans so that I could cut one pan and save the other for the next day)

bottom chocolate layer

1 1/4 cups milk chocolate chips

1/4 cup peanut butter

Thoroughly grease you baking pan. Melt ingredients together in a saucepan or microwave, then pour into the baking dish and spread until even. Let cool and harden completely.

nougat layer

1/4 cup unsalted butter

1 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup evaporated milk

1 1/2 cups marshmallow fluff

1/4 cup peanut butter

1 1/2 cup salted peanuts chopped, roughly chopped

1 tsp vanilla extract

Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add in sugar and milk, stirring until dissolved and bring to a boil. Let cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add in fluff, peanut butter and vanilla, stirring until smooth. Turn off heat and fold in peanuts, then pour over bottom chocolate layer. Let cool completely.

caramel layer

1 14-ounce bag of caramels

1/4 cup whipping cream

Combine ingredients in a saucepan over low heat. Let melt, stirring occasionally, until smooth – this took about 10 minutes for me. Pour over nougat layer and let cool completely.

Top chocolate layer

1 1/4 cups milk chocolate chips

1/4 cup peanut butter

Melt ingredients together in a saucepan or microwave, then pour over caramel and spread until even. Let cool and harden completely.

Refrigerate for at least one hour before serving, then cut as desired. These can stay at room temperature, but they do get gooey. I like them refrigerated best!

Note: for best results, buy one of the half-sheet aluminum cake pans at the grocery store. That way, you can pop the entire square out and cut from there! 

credits: how sweet treats . hippie gypsy