[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).

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.

– 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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*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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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.

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.

Serves 10.

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.

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.
  

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”).

 
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).