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TIP OF THE DAY: Things To Do With Candy Canes


[1] The harbinger of Yuletide (photo © Candy Warehouse).


[2] Multicolor candy canes from Hammond’s Candies, producer of “gourmet” candy canes (photo © Hammond’s Candies).

  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.

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 to use as a cup rimmer or a garnish atop the whipped cream.
  • 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.
  • 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!

     

    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.

    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.

    December 26th is National Candy Cane Day.

      

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    Cooking Video: How to Make Chocolate Pecan Pie

      Need a party gift or a simple-yet-fancy holiday dessert?

    This easy-to-make chocolate pecan pie fits the bill. Using only a few simple ingredients and a pre-made crust, the prep time is only ten minutes. (You can substitute your favorite crust recipe if you prefer to make the crust from scratch.)

    The recipe suggests serving the pie with a garnish of whipped cream and chocolate-dipped pecans, but we prefer ours with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

    Make your chocolate pecan pie as good as it can be by using high-quality chocolate chips. Our favorites are the baking chips from Guittard, one of the world’s great chocolate producers (and made in the U.S.A., in San Francisco). We order them by the case and give them as gifts to friends who bake. At supermarkets, we pick up Ghirardelli.

    Don’t be put off by terms like “Extra Dark” and “Bittersweet” on the Guittard and Ghirardelli packages. Both of these products, at 63% and 60% cacao, respectively, are just perfect for chocolate chip cookies and chocolate pecan pies.

  • You can also toss chocolate chips into our Bourbon Pecan Pumpkin Pie recipe, a pumpkin pie bottom layer with a pecan pie top.
  • For more cooking videos, see our Cooking Videos Section.
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    TIP OF THE DAY: Cranberry Sauce With A Twist

    Add some spark to your cranberry sauce with a bit of Port.

    This tip is from Sable & Rosenfeld, who gave us the roast turkey recipe below. You can purchase their Port Cranberry Sauce online.

    You can use your favorite cranberry sauce recipe, or this classic cranberry-orange relish that can be made several days in advance. Another tip: Cranberry sauce can be frozen and defrosted to enjoy with any meat or poultry dish.

    CRANBERRY SAUCE WITH PORT RECIPE

    Ingredients

    • 1 package (12-ounces) fresh cranberries
    • 1 cinnamon stick
    • 2 large oranges, washed but unpeeled
    • 1-1/4 cups sugar

    Cranberry-orange relish, finely pulsed.
    Photo by S.F. Foodphoto | IST.

    Preparation
    1. Wash cranberries under cold running water. Soak overnight in Ruby Port with cinnamon stick.
    2. To begin making the sauce, drain the cranberries—but don’t toss the Port. It can be used in another recipe or sauce (or you can drink it!).
    3. Slice orange into eighths; remove any seeds.
    4. Place half of the cranberries and half of the oranges in a food processor. Pulse until evenly chopped.
    5. Transfer to a bowl and repeat with the other half of the cranberries and oranges.
    6. Add sugar to taste. We typically reduce the sugar, so add one cup to begin with; chill and adjust sugar if necessary. Cranberry sauce should be tart-and-sweet, not overly sweet.

    Serves 10.

     

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    RECIPE: Moist Roast Turkey

    A beautiful garnish for the turkey platter.
    Photo courtesy SableAndRosenfeld.com.

     

    Ninety percent of Americans serve turkey on Thanksgiving; 50% of us serve it for Christmas dinner as well.

    Gourmet food producer Sable & Rosenfeld suggests a delicious and fragrant turkey garnish of figs, fresh sage and “Champagne” grapes.

    The smallest of the seedless grapes, what is popularly known as the Champagne grape, is an ancient Greek grape variety properly called the Black Corinth, Vitis vinifera. It’s the grape that produces the fruit known as Zante currants. (Zante currants are not true currants: Here’s the scoop.)

    The “Champagne” grape is not used for making Champagne. The sparkling wine is made from Chardonnay, Pinot Noir or a combination of the two; Pinot Meunier can be added for fruitiness.

     
    So why is the Corinth grape called the Champagne grape?

    The reference purportedly comes from a magazine shoot where a flute of Champagne was photographed next to a cluster of the small grapes. Alas, a misnomer was born.

    But back to the turkey. Here‘s the recipe for a moist roast turkey with crisp skin, from Sable & Rosenfeld.
      

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    Cranberry Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe

    Do a seasonal switch-up on everybody’s favorite cookies—chocolate chip cookies—for the holidays. Add dried cranberries to your chocolate chip cookie (or oatmeal cookie) recipe.

    You can find dried cranberries in most food stores. Ocean Spray Craisins are a marketing name for dried cranberries (cranberry “raisins”).

  • Just split the amount of chocolate chips in your recipe by half, making up the remainder with the cranberries. Do the same with the raisins in the oatmeal cookie recipe.
  • You can also divide the chips between chocolate and white chocolate, or use all white chocolate chips. White chocolate and cranberries are a great pairing.
  • Use our recipe for cherry chocolate chip cookies, substituting dried cranberries for the dried cherries.
  •  
    Bring them to parties, give them as gifts, and treat everyone in your household.

    Did you know that chocolate chip cookies were invented by accident? Here’s:
     
     
    > THE HISTORY OF CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

     


    Make your holiday chocolate chip cookies with white chocolate chips and dried cranberries (photo © courtesy Cherry Marketing Institute).

     

     
     

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