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[1] Candy canes: the harbinger of Yuletide. See their origin, below.
[2] White chocolate candy cane fudge. Here’s the recipe (photo © The Girl Who Ate Everything).
[3] This hot chocolate has both a candy cane and a cinnamon stick, for extra “yum” (photo © Taryn Elliott | Pexels).
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A candy cane is more than a snack or Christmas tree decoration.
We also like to use them as dinner table decor: Fold a candy cane into each napkin, or tie it with a ribbon as a place setting.
Here are other ways to use them, along with the history of candy canes, below..
This is also a good list for what to do when you’ve purchased too many candy canes, or what happens to them after the holidays.
These “leftover” candy canes add bright peppermint flavor to beverages and desserts, throughout the gray winter days.
Use as a stirrer for hot chocolate or crush for a garnish atop the whipped cream.
Use as a stirrer in black tea to make peppermint tea.
Crush into a rimmer for hot chocolate or a chocolate or peppermint Martini.
Make peppermint vodka. The recipe is in the *footnote.
Mix into brownie batter, chocolate cookie batter, or other favorite recipe.
Make peppermint ice cream. You can do it from scratch, or soften a container of chocolate or vanilla ice cream just enough to stir in crushed candy cane pieces. Or more easily…
Use crushed pieces as a garnish, to turn plain vanilla or chocolate ice cream into holiday ice cream, and top iced cookies and cakes.
Chop to layer in a candy cane-brownie parfait or sundae.
Repurpose into other candy: chocolate bark, chocolate or vanilla fudge.
Add to cake or cookie batter, especially chocolate. Use the same peppermint/chocolate combo for Rice Krispie treats.
Make chocolate peppermint popcorn, adding crushed bits to the melted chocolate.
Make peppermint whipped cream to use as a garnish for hot chocolate, ice cream, chocolate cake or other dessert.
– Grind three candy canes or eight 1-inch peppermint candies to a fine powder in a food processor or spice mill.
– Set aside 3 to 4 tablespoons of the powder, depending on how strong a flavor you like, and reserve the rest in a small container for future use.
– Beat two cups of cold heavy cream in a small bowl until soft peaks form; fold in the peppermint powder.
How do you use candy canes? Please share!
> December 26th is National Candy Cane Day.
> The year’s 60+ candy holidays.
> The year’s 9 mint holidays.
CANDY CANE HISTORY
Candy canes were created in 1670 in Germany, by the choirmaster of the Cologne Cathedral. He created sugar sticks for the young singers in the choir, to keep them quiet during the long Living Crèche ceremony. He bent the sugar-sticks to represent a shepherd’s staff.
At this point, candy canes were all-white and had no flavoring. They remained this way for more than 330 years. White candy canes can still be seen on Christmas cards dating to 1900.
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[4] Candy cane ice cream. Here’s the recipe. Or, simply stir 12 crushed candy canes into a quart of softened vanilla ice cream (Cuisinart).
Shortly after then, the first red-and-white striped candy canes appeared. The name of the innovator is lost to history. At about the same time, confectioners added peppermint and wintergreen flavors to create the “modern” candy cane.
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*The candy cane/peppermint vodka recipe you need 12 candy canes and 1 750ml bottle of vodka. Pour the vodka into a jar, pulse the candy canes to fine powder and add them to the vodka. Screw on the lid and shake to mix. Let the vodka sit, shaking occasionally, until the powder dissolves and vodka turns red, about 30 minutes. Strain any remaining bits and return to the jar, or use a funnel to return the vodka to its original bottle. Keep it sealed and refrigerated. Serve in a Martini glass with an optional chocolate or sparkle rim. You can also make a “peppermint patty” cocktail with chocolate liqueur and a garnish of whipped cream.
If some of the powder precipitates to the bottom, just shake before using. The vodka’s peppermint flavor should stay strong for at least 2-3 months, and still be quite good for 6 months. It will be potentially less vibrant after 6-12 months, but you can perk up the flavor with peppermint extract.
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