Peppermint Candy Biscuits Food

PEPPERMINT-CANDY SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.
• With a mixer on medium speed, beat butter with granulated sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in egg and vanilla until just blended, scraping down sides of bowl. Reduce speed to low and beat in flour mixture until combined. Refrigerate dough until firm, about 1 hour.
• Meanwhile, place peppermints in a resealable plastic bag and finely crush with a meat mallet. Transfer to a shallow bowl and mix with sanding sugar.
• Form rounded teaspoons of dough into balls for small cookies, or rounded tablespoons for larger ones. Roll in crushed-candy mixture to coat. Arrange 2 inches apart on parchment-lined baking sheets.
• Bake, rotating sheets once, until edges are starting to brown, about 11 minutes for small cookies, 14 minutes for larger ones. Let cool completely on sheets on wire racks. (Break off any bits of melted candy from edges of cookies, if necessary.) Cookies can be stored in an airtight container, between sheets of parchment or waxed paper, up to 1 week.

PEPPERMINT CANDY BISCUITS

Steps:

• Before you start, read the tips at the bottom of the recipe.
• Tip the flour and butter into a bowl. Use your fingers to squash the lumps of butter into the flour, then rub together until the mixture resembles wet sand. Add the sugar and egg yolk and 1-2 tbsp cold water. Mix together with a blunt cutlery knife, then your hands, until it becomes a soft dough. (Or, get an adult to help you to do this in a food processor.) Wrap the dough in cling film and pop in the fridge for 20 mins to chill.
• Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Line 2 baking trays with baking parchment. Put the candy canes in a resealable plastic bag, then wrap in a tea towel. Use a rolling pin to bash them to a chunky rubble. Set to one side.
• Dust your work surface with a little flour, then use a rolling pin to roll out the dough. Cut out heart shapes with your big cookie cutter. Put them on the baking trays, spaced a little apart. Use your small cutter to cut out a little heart in the centre of each big heart. Re-roll your cuttings to make about 20 hearts in total.
• Bake for 8 mins. Carefully remove the trays from the oven, then fill each small heart with a little of the crushed candy cane. Return to the oven for 4 mins more, until the biscuits are just starting to turn golden and the candy cane has melted.
• Once out of the oven, quickly sprinkle the gooey centre of each heart with a little extra crushed candy cane. Leave to set and cool completely on the trays. Once cool, the biscuits will peel straight off the trays. Wrap them in pretty boxes to give as a gift.

ALMOST-FAMOUS PEPPERMINT BARK

Steps:

• Line a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with aluminum foil, shiny-side up; smooth out any wrinkles. Heat 1 inch of water in a saucepan over low heat until steaming.
• Put all but 3/4 cup of the semisweet chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Set the bowl over the saucepan of steaming water (do not let the bowl touch the water) and stir until one-third of the chocolate is melted. Remove the bowl from the saucepan; keep the steaming water over low heat. Gradually stir the reserved 3/4 cup semisweet chocolate into the bowl, a few pieces at a time, until all of the chocolate is melted. Return the bowl to the saucepan, 5 to 10 seconds at a time, to help melt the chocolate, if needed. Do not rush this step: It may take up to 10 minutes to melt the chocolate.
• Wipe off any moisture from the bottom of the bowl. Stir 3/4 teaspoon peppermint extract into the chocolate, then quickly pour into the prepared baking dish and spread in an even layer. Firmly tap the dish against the counter to remove any air bubbles. Set aside at room temperature until almost set, about 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, put all but 1 cup of the white chocolate in a large heatproof bowl and repeat the melting process over the steaming water; dry off the bottom of the bowl. Stir in the remaining 3/4 teaspoon peppermint extract; pour over the semisweet chocolate and spread in an even layer. Sprinkle immediately with the crushed candy canes, gently pressing them into the white chocolate. Set aside at room temperature until firm, about 1 hour. Lift the bark out of the pan using the foil and break it into pieces. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.

PEPPERMINT CANDY

Steps:

• Beat cream cheese, butter, corn syrup and extract in large mixing bowl at medium speed with electric mixer until well blended.
• Gradually add 4 cups powdered sugar; mix well.
• Divide mixture into thirds. Knead a few drops green food coloring into one third; repeat with red food coloring and the second third. Leave the last third white.
• Wrap each third in plastic wrap.
• Working with one color mixture at a time, shape into 3/4-inch balls.
• Place on waxed paper-lined cookie sheet. Flatten each ball with bottom of glass that has been lightly dipped in confectioner's sugar.
• Repeat with remaining mixtures.
• Decorating with icing or melted chocolate.
• Chill.