Chef Ethan

One of our traditional Christmas treats is peppermint bark - just peppermint candy crushed and mixed with melted white chocolate. There are a number of tasty variations, like this one Luke's sister Tammy posted, but we usually just do the basic one. It's simple enough that Ethan was able to make it almost entirely by himself. Then, he came up with a different version that was delicious!

Cinnamon Candy Bark

12 oz white chocolate
10 cinnamon discs - the hard candy

Chop white chocolate and melt it either in the microwave or in a double boiler. Crush the cinnamon candies. Place a strainer over the bowl of white chocolate and pour the candy into the strainer. Shake and tap it until all of the small candy pieces are filtered out, and only the larger ones remain in the strainer.

Stir the white chocolate and "candy dust" thoroughly. Spread it out to a 1/4" (or so) thickness on a piece of tin foil or waxed paper. Scatter the remaining larger candy pieces over the top, pressing them down lightly. You can refrigerate it to make it set up faster, or you can just leave it at room temperature. When it's firm, break it into bite-size pieces.

Luke, Ethan, and I all really liked this, but Alex thought it was too spicy. Everyone agrees that we should make it again next year. I think we'll probably add a little bit of cinnamon oil to the melted chocolate, though, to make it just a bit spicier.