Candy Canes Food

CANDY CANE CHOCOLATE TART

Steps:

• Make the crust: Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat to 375 degrees F. Pulse the cookies and granulated sugar in a food processor until finely ground. Add the melted butter and pulse until combined.
• Lightly coat a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom with cooking spray. Press the crumb mixture into the bottom and up the side of the pan. Bake until set, about 15 minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool completely.
• Meanwhile, make the filling: Heat the milk in a saucepan over medium-high heat until it starts simmering, then remove from the heat. Whisk the egg yolks, granulated sugar, cornstarch and salt in a medium bowl until combined. Gradually whisk one-third of the warm milk into the egg mixture, then pour into the saucepan with the remaining milk. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture starts to bubble and thicken, about 3 minutes. Continue boiling, whisking, until the mixture is thick like pudding, about 2 more minutes. Remove from the heat, then whisk in the semisweet and mint-flavored chocolate and the butter. Pour into the prepared crust and spread evenly. Refrigerate until set, about 1 1/2 hours.
• Right before serving, beat the heavy cream, confectioners' sugar and peppermint extract in a medium bowl with a mixer on medium speed until soft peaks form. Spread the whipped cream on the tart and sprinkle with sanding sugar.

CANDY CANE HEART POPS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 225 degrees F and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Place 3 lollipop sticks on one of the baking sheets. Lay 2 candy canes in a heart shape around each stick, making sure the stick touches the inside of both candy canes at the top and bottom of the heart. Bake for 3 to 4 minutes, until the candy canes are slightly soft and malleable and very warm, but not hot to the touch.
• With your fingers, press the candy canes together, adhering them to the stick at the top and bottom. Gently bend the outer edges of the candy canes outwards to widen the heart shape. (If the candy canes harden too quickly, you may return to the oven for 30 seconds and try again.) Let cool completely on the baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining candy canes and sticks, using the other baking sheet and rotating the use of the sheets while the others cool.
• Once all of the hearts are formed and cooled, line them up on a piece of parchment placed on a work surface. Melt the white chocolate or candy melts in a bowl in the microwave on 50 percent power in 30 second intervals, stirring in between, 1 to 2 minutes total.
• Transfer the melted chocolate to a piping bag or resealable plastic bag with a corner snipped off and pipe it into the center of the hearts, spreading it to the edges with a small spoon or spatula. Sprinkle with the decorations of your choice. Let the pops harden completely at room temperature or in the refrigerator.
• Ornament Variation: Make the candy cane hearts without the lollipop sticks and let cool. Tie a decorative ribbon around the top of the heart, then fill with white chocolate and decorate.

CANDY CANE COOKIES

Steps:

• Beat the butter, superfine sugar and salt in a large bowl with a mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in the egg, vanilla and peppermint extract. Reduce the mixer speed to low and beat in the flour until incorporated. Transfer the dough to a piece of plastic wrap and pat into a rectangle; tightly wrap and refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour or overnight.
• Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Spread some red sanding sugar and superfine sugar on separate plates. Gently roll heaping teaspoonfuls of dough into short logs with your hands. One at a time, roll half of the logs in red sanding sugar to form 4-inch strands. Repeat with the remaining logs and superfine sugar. Twist 1 strand of each color together, then arrange on the prepared baking sheets, about 2 inches apart, and bend the tops to form candy canes. Refrigerate until firm, about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F.
• Bake, switching the pans halfway through, until the cookies are set and lightly browned around the edges, 11 to 13 minutes. Let cool completely on the baking sheets.

CANDY CANES

Steps:

• Before you begin this recipe, please take a class from a professional on working with sugar. This is a skill that professional pastry chefs develop after years of experience. Working with sugar will burn your fingers so know before you start that your fingers will develop burn blisters. Place the sugar, vinegar and water in a saucepan over high heat. Insert a candy thermometer and cook until the sugar reaches 320 degrees F. Use a pastry brush to keep the inside of the saucepan clean as the sugar cooks or the sugar may recrystallize. To do this, dip a clean brush in cold water and brush the inside of the pan clean. Pour the cooked sugar onto 3 or 4 silicone baking mats. If you want to color and/or flavor the sugar with food colors and/or flavored oils, this is the time to do so. Add a few drops of color to the sugar. Mix with a wooden skewer. To get started, push the sugar from the sides toward the center. This process takes a little while. Try to keep the sugar divided by color. Use the mat to push the firm sugar around the edges toward the center. Use a folding motion to accomplish that task. The next step is to pick up the sugar with your hands. Place each color under the heat of the sugar lamp. Pull the sugar until it becomes glossy and the color is evenly distributed. You will need to pull the colors simultaneously. Keep them under the sugar lamp but keep an eye on them. The lamp can melt the sugar so it is important keep rotating it and folding it onto itself.
• Start with 2 pieces of colored sugar. I used red and green. Pull them into a rectangular shape that is about 1 1/2-inches wide by 3-inches long and 1/2-inch thick. Place the pieces side-to-side and let them stick together on the long side. Place a piece of white sugar that is about 1/2-inch wide by 3-inches long and 1/2-inch thick in the middle. Close the red and green around it. Roll it and twist it while pulling it. When it gets to the desired thickness, use a scissor to cut the length and shape into a cane. Allow to cool completely. The white is inside and will become apparent when eaten.
• Jacques? tips: Vinegar keeps the sugar from crystallizing. You will not taste the flavor. It serves as an acid in this recipe. Sometimes candy cane recipes contain corn syrup, which makes the sugar very dry and very hot. Adding corn syrup makes it more difficult to work with the sugar at home. Remember, the sugar is at 320 degrees F, and that will burn you. The ideal work surface is a silpat placed over cool marble or granite. If you do not have marble or stone, use wood. It is a good idea to use gloves to help protect your hands from the heat and to prevent burning.
• I use a special sugar box that includes a special heat source, If you don?t have one, you can work in front of the oven. Set the oven to 300 degrees F. Open the oven door and place the silpat on the oven door. It provides a similar effect to the sugar box heater.

PEPPERMINT CANDY CANES

Steps:

• Mix a few drops of peppermint into the white, red and green icing. Divide the white icing in 2 and wrap half in cling film along with the green icing.
• Roll the remaining half of white icing into a long, thin sausage shape, then do the same with the red icing. Lay the 2 sausages next to each other, and twist together. Gently roll the twisted length with the palm of your hand until the 2 sausages are joined and smooth. Slice into 12cm lengths, then bend the end of each one to make a hook. Line a baking sheet with baking parchment, then spread out the candy canes. Repeat with the remaining white icing and green icing, then leave the canes to dry out for at least 24 hrs before packaging.

CANDY CANE POPCORN CRUNCH

Steps:

• Pop popcorn.
• 1/2 cup of unpopped popcorn yields approximately 10 cups of popped popcorn.
• Make 24 cups of popcorn.
• This is approximate-- not to worry if you have 22 cups or 28 cups-- it is a forgiving recipe.
• Put candy canes into a food processor.
• Finely crush.
• Melt dipping wafers following the package instructions.
• I used the microwave instructions-- very simple& easy.
• Put popcorn into a large bowl-- you need a really big bowl-- I actually used 2 bowls.
• Add melted dipping wafers to popcorn and stir to coat.
• A gentle hand is a good idea-- Add crushed candy canes and gently mix.
• Spread popcorn mixture onto paper lined cookie sheets.
• I used non stick aluminum foil-- it worked well-- I used 2 cookie sheets.
• Place cookie sheets in frig for approximately 30 minutes or until coating hardens-- I had 2 cookie sheets and not enough frig space so I put 1 cookie sheet in the frig and the other cookie sheet in the freezer (for 15 minutes only) to harden the coating-- Remove from frig/freezer-- break into pieces.
• Store in airtight container in a cool dry place for up to 1 week or in the freezer for up to 6 weeks (I have not tried storing in the freezer yet).

CANDY CANES DESSERT MINIS

Steps:

• Add boiling water to combined gelatin mix and 1/3 cup crushed candy in medium bowl; stir 2 min. until gelatin mix is completely dissolved and candy is melted.
• Reserve 1/2 cup COOL WHIP for later use. Add remaining COOL WHIP to gelatin mixture; whisk until blended.
• Spoon into 12 (2-oz.) shot glasses.
• Refrigerate 2 hours or until firm.
• Top with reserved COOL WHIP and crushed candy before serving.

MERINGUE CANDY CANES

Steps:

• Whisk the egg whites with an electric whisk or in a stand mixer for 2-3 mins, or until very foamy and doubled in size. With the motor running, add the sugar 1 tbsp at a time, beating in fully before adding the next spoonful.
• When all the sugar has been incorporated, add the peppermint extract and whisk for 2-3 mins more until very thick, glossy, and holding stiff peaks.
• Fit two piping bags with 1cm round nozzles, and paint a few stripes of the food colouring gels onto the inside of the bags using a cocktail stick. (Use one colour for each bag, or alternate the colours in the bags). Heat the oven to 120C/100C fan/gas ½, and line two or three baking sheets with baking parchment.
• Divide the meringue mixture between the two piping bags and pipe roughly 10cm-long, 2cm-thick cane shapes onto the prepared sheets, leaving a gap between each. Bake for 50 mins until dry and crisp. Leave to cool on the sheets for a few minutes, then carefully loosen them from the parchment with a palette knife, and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. U se the meringue canes to decorate your tree, or keep in an airtight container for up to two weeks.