Holiday Chocolate-Mint Pie

Found on Pillsbury

INGREDIENTS:

1

Pillsbury® Pet-Ritz® frozen deep dish pie crust

1 1/4

cups milk

1

box (4-serving size) chocolate pudding and pie filling mix (not instant)

1

cup semisweet chocolate chips

1/2

cup milk

20

large marshmallows

1

cup whipping cream

1/2

teaspoon peppermint extract

6

tablespoons crushed red, green and white hard peppermint candies

DIRECTIONS:

• Heat oven to 400°F. Bake pie crust as directed on package for One-Crust Baked Pie Shell. Cool completely, about 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, in 2-quart saucepan, stir together 1 1/4 cups milk and pudding mix; cook over medium heat as directed on box. Reduce heat to low; continue cooking while adding chocolate chips, stirring until melted. Set aside.
• In 3-quart saucepan, heat 1/2 cup milk and marshmallows over low heat, stirring constantly, just until marshmallows are melted. Refrigerate about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until mixture mounds slightly when dropped from a spoon.
• In chilled medium bowl, beat whipping cream and peppermint extract on high speed until stiff. Gently stir in marshmallow mixture. Gently stir in 1/4 cup of the crushed candies.
• Spread chocolate mixture in cooled shell; top with whipped cream mixture. Refrigerate until set, about 4 hours. Just before serving, sprinkle remaining 2 tablespoons crushed candies on top. Store covered in refrigerator.

High Altitude (3500-6500 ft):

No change.

Christmas Tree Peppermint Bark

Found on TidyMom

What You Need………

You can use many different variations on this, but here are  the basics:

• Cookie Cutters – Any cookie cutters will work.  The smaller metal ones work nice because you can clean them up and gift them along with the bark. (snowflakes, stars and gingerbread men would all be cute too)

• Decorator Bag - I melted the chocolate right in the 12″ disposable decorator bag, then squeezed the chocolate into all the nooks and crannies of my cookie cutter.  You can find pastry bags at the craft stores, Amazon or Sweet Baking Supply.
• Chocolate – For this project I used the Wilton Candy Cane Color Burst Melts and Ghirardelli Chocolate Baking Bar .  But you can use any kind of chocolate you like.  I like the Wilton Candy Cane Color Burst Melts because they’re already peppermint flavored, so no need to add peppermint oil. Again most of these can be purchased at the craft stores, Wal-Mart, Amazon or Sweet Baking Supply.
• Crushed Candy Cane – you can buy a package of candy canes and crush them, or I found a bag of crushed candy cane pieces in the baking aisle of my grocery store.
• Parchment or Waxed paper lined sheet pan
• Clear Plastic Bags , Ribbon and tags- Clear cellophane bags, ribbon and a cute tag turn your peppermint bark into the perfect holiday gift!

Instructions…

• Place the cookie cutters in refrigerator until ready to fill.
• Line your baking sheet with parchment or waxed paper.
• Place Ghirardelli Chocolate pieces in decorator bag (filling about 1/2 way), twist top of bag, place in microwave on 50% power for 30 seconds.  Remove bag and “knead” chocolate.  Place bag back in microwave and repeat until chocolate is melted.
• Remove cookie cutters from refrigerator and place on lined baking sheet.
• Snip the tip off the end of the decorator bag
• Use the chocolate filled bag to pipe the chocolate into the cookie cutters (*you may need to hold onto the cookie cutter while you do this).  Be sure to get into all of the corners.
• Place pan of chocolate filled cookie cutters into freezer for about 10 mins. for chocolate to “set”.
• Place Wilton Candy Cane Burst Melts into decorator bag, and repeat as you did for chocolate.
• Remove pan from freezer, snip the tip of the decorator bag and pipe the Candy Cane Burst Melts on top of the Ghirardelli chocolate.
• Sprinkle with Crushed Candy Cane pieces.
• Place in freezer for about 10 mins. to set.
• Once the chocolate has hardened, remove from the cookie cutters by gently pressing with your thumbs.
• Wrap a few pieces of bark in a clear cellophane bag  tie with ribbon, attach clean cookie cutter and a cute tag!
• If you’re using a decorative box or tin, put a piece of wax paper in that covers the bottom and sticks over the sides. Once you’ve filled the container, flip the wax paper over the top and cover. If you’re using a plate, or cute dish, like I found at Michaels, arrange the bark and cover with plastic wrap.
• Will keep in fridge for 5-6 weeks.

*if you can’t find the Wilton Candy Cane Burst melts, you can follow my other recipe for Peppermint Bark using peppermint oil.

Chocolate-Peppermint Creams

Found on Pillsbury

Bits of crunchy peppermint candy complement the dark chocolate crust and creamy, rich filling. Lovely!

Prep Time: 45 Min

Total Time: 1 Hr

Makes: 75

INGREDIENTS:

1

bag (12 oz) semisweet chocolate chips (2 cups)

1

bag (12 oz) dark chocolate chips (2 cups)

1/3

cup whipping cream

1

cup butter

1/4

cup dry pudding mix from 1 box (4-serving size) vanilla pudding and pie filling mix (not instant)

1/2

cup whipping cream

1/2

teaspoon peppermint extract

1/2

teaspoon vanilla

1

bag (2 lb) powdered sugar

1/2

cup coarsely chopped peppermint candy canes

DIRECTIONS:

• Spray 15x10x1-inch pan with cooking spray. Reserve 1/2 cup of the semisweet chocolate chips. In 2-quart saucepan, heat remaining semisweet chocolate chips, the dark chocolate chips and 1/3 cup cream over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until melted. Pour into pan; spread evenly. Refrigerate.
• Meanwhile, in 3-quart saucepan, heat butter, pudding mix and 1/2 cup cream to boiling over medium heat, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; stir in peppermint extract, vanilla and powdered sugar, beating well, until mixture is smooth. Spread evenly over cooled chocolate layer; freeze until firm, 15 to 20 minutes.
• Place reserved 1/2 cup chocolate chips in small resealable freezer plastic bag. Microwave on High 45 to 55 seconds, turning bag over after 30 seconds. Squeeze bag until chips are melted and smooth. Cut small tip off one corner of bag, and drizzle over top. Immediately sprinkle with chopped candy. Cut into 15 rows by 5 rows.