Candy Cane Crunch!

I love christmas baking!  I also love EATING christmas baking.  I recently came up with this idea when Princess Pea and I decided to have a mommy daughter bake day.  Unfortunately I soon realized that I didn’t have any eggs in the fridge, and my marshmallows were so incredibly old that they no longer melted, they just burned.  Awesome…

So… we improvised with what we had and it turned out great!  Its a definite MUST to have chocolate in my house, so this worked out perfect for us!

For the bars:

1.5 cups milk chocolate chips

1 TB vegetable oil

1 tsp or more peppermint extract

2 cups rice cereal

For the white chocolate coating:

1.5-2 cups white chocolate (I used a left over Easter Bunny)

1 TB vegetable oil

1 tsp or more peppermint extract

1/2 cup crushed candy canes, approx.

Milk Chocolate Directions:

In a large mixing bowl, place the 2 cups of rice krispies, set aside.

Line a cookie sheet or pan with parchment paper.

In a small saucepan, over low heat melt the vegetable oil and the milk chocolate—constantly stirring until the chocolate is melted.

After the  chocolate is melted and off the heat, add in the peppermint extract and mix.

Taste test it to see if it has enough mint in it for you.

Pour melted milk chocolate into bowl with rice cereal, and mix with a spatula.

Pour mixture over your cookie sheet or pan and flatten as much as you can before it starts to set up.

Don’t make it too thin. You should get a 10-inch long by 6-inch wide square—roughly.

Let this cool and harden.

Option: Using a sharp knife, slice off the edges for a nice clean square. Then slice into small squares or whatever shapes you want.

White Chocolate Directions:

Melt the white chocolate with the vegetable oil over low heat, stirring constantly.

Just when it starts to melt is when I take it off the heat and keep stirring.

If I need more then I put it back on, then back off, back on, etc..—this way you can avoid the chocolate seizing up.

The vegetable oil helps to thin the chocolate out and make it easier for dipping.

After the white chocolate is melted and off the heat, add in the peppermint extract and mix.

Do a taste test and see if it’s ok to you. If not, add in more, in small amounts.

You can dunk the chocolate squares into the melted white chocolate, or just coat the top like I did.

Use whatever method works best for you.

Let excess chocolate drip off then place on wire racks or parchment lined pans to set up/harden.

Immediately place the crushed candy cane on the tops of the bars.

Let bars harden for at least a few hours.

This makes a small batch, about 15-20 bars, depending how you slice them.

And that’s the dish for today!  Like I said before, make a double batch, you won’t regret it!

P.S. I’m linking up with these amazing ladies:

Lady Behind the Curtain, The Trendy Treehouse, Lil Luna, The Gooseberry Patch, Southern Lovely, Seven Thirty Three, Someday Crafts, We are THAT family, Ginger snap crafts