Three posts in three days?! I’m surprised myself.
Is my family the only family that doesn’t eat the candy canes off the tree after Christmas? When we take down the tree we set them on the counter and leave them there until February. That’s when we decide to throw them in the trash and make way for Valentine candy.
What a waste of such a delicious and traditional candy, right?
I’m just not into eating candy canes. They look pretty, but unless I’m leaving an Italian restaurant, I rarely eat mint candy (come on – tell me you don’t swoop in, Dean Martin crooning into your ears, and grab a big handful of mints and stuff them into your pockets as you slip out the door?).
I think when I was a younger I liked to eat candy canes. But I’m no longer satisfied by the simple things I enjoyed as a kid, candy included. Now I’m kind of into eatingRocher chocolates at Christmas time. I’m in love with their crispity-crunchy chocolate shell, the oozing chocolate filling and the single hazelnut that sits in the center . What a dreamy candy. Man, I hope someone from Rocher contacts me and asks me if I want a free sample.
Even with dozens of types of flavors, I still can’t get into the candy cane.Except maybe mint chocolate. But definitely no to strawberry, watermelon, butterscotch, bubble gum, cinnamon, raspberry, apple, blueberry, cherry, or other flavors.
Anyway, if you’re trying to use up extra candy canes that are laying around, I have a recipe for you:Crushed Candy Cane-Topped Brownies.
I am so sick of brownies. Sorry. I’ve made a batch a week for about the last month or so. I’m not sure why I keep making them. I guess it’s my brownie obsession; my quest in finding the perfect brownie. If you think you discovered the ultimate brownie, please send me your recipe…. or if you have any brownie secrets, let me know…
These are dark chocolate brownies, that are very rich and fudgy. To make them appropriate for the season, I sprinkled crushed candy canes on top. My advice would be to crush the candy canes very finely. I wanted to them to look pretty, and I left the candy canes too coarse. So the topping was extra crunchy, and that disappointed me.No one likes to break a tooth on Christmas.
Crushed Candy Cane-Topped Brownies
Ingredients:
14 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 1/4 cups dark chocolate chips (I used Hershey’s Dark)
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3 large eggs
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4-1/3 cup finely crushed candy canes
3 tablespoons mini chocolate chips (optional)
Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a 13×9-inch baking dish with foil; butter or coat foil with cooking spray.
Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat; turn heat off and stir in chocolate until melted and smooth.
In a medium sized mixing bowl, sift together flour, cocoa powder, salt and baking powder.
In a large mixing bowl, using a mixer on medium-high speed, beat eggs, brown sugar and granulated sugar until thickened and foamy, about 4 minutes; reduce mixer speed to low and beat in melted chocolate-butter mixture until well combined. Beat in flour mixture until just combined.
Scrape brownie batter into prepared baking dish; evenly top with candy cane and mini chocolate chips. Bake at 350 degrees F, for 28-32 minutes. Cool completely before lifting foil out of pan and slicing brownies into bars.
Makes 15 brownies
