December 1st is National Peppermint Bark Day, celebrating one of our favorite holiday treats. Every year we purchase it from Enstrom, our favorite brand after tasting every one we could get our hands on over the years.

It’s a symphony of white chocolate, dark chocolate, vanilla cookies, chocolate cookies, and crushed peppermint. This perfect combination yields a confection that’s delicious with hot or iced coffee, tea, hot chocolate, and milk.

Enstrom sells it in a gift box. Williams-Sonoma has a private label version in a tin, made for them by Guittard.

What makes one peppermint bark better than the next? It’s all about the quality of ingredients and the ratio.

We love the combination of chocolate and mint, so every so often, we whip up this really easy recipe from scratch.

Our own personal touch is using Starlight chocolate mints (photo #5) instead of red-and-white peppermints.

But yesterday, we made a new recipe, compliments of our colleague Hannah Kaminsky of Bittersweet Blog. Prep time is just 10 minutes!

Something about the combination of creamy chocolate slabs, festooned with crunchy red and white striped mint confections seems to strike a chord with everyone, young, old, jolly, and curmudgeonly alike.

This bar looks beautiful, but the real beauty is in its simplicity. If you’ve forgotten to get someone a holiday gift, or need a last-minute contribution for a party, make some peppermint bark.

The recipe follows.

> Ways to use extra bark, below.

> More peppermint bark and chocolate bark recipes.

> The history of chocolate bark.

> All of the chocolate holidays.
 
 
RECIPE: THREE-COLOR HOLIDAY PEPPERMINT BARK

Hannah made the top of her peppermint bark look like tree bark, by using this wood-grained chocolate bar mold. We didn’t have time to order them, so we piped a bunch of Christmas trees. You can use any decor and any shape, if you want to create something other than rectangles and squares.
 
Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. SET out three candy bar molds that can hold approximately 2 ounces each; set aside.

2. WHISK together in a medium bowl the melted cocoa butter, confectioner’s sugar, and vanilla, mixing thoroughly until completely smooth. Pour about 1/3 of the mixture into the molds, dividing it equally among them.

3. DIVIDE the remaining mixture in half, pouring the other half into a second bowl. Into the first bowl, add the ground candy cane, beet powder, and peppermint extract. Once smooth, pour it into the molds, right on top of the first white layer.

4. WHISK the cocoa into the second bowl, and pour it on top of the white layer, filling the molds. Use a toothpick to gently swirl all three colors together, marbling the layers without completely blending them. Carefully…

5. MOVE the molds into the fridge and let them rest, undisturbed, for 1-2 hours or until set.

6. POP the bark out of the molds, wrap them in plastic, and store in a cool place.
 
 
WAYS TO USE CHOCOLATE BARK

If you don’t want to eat it plain,

 
________________
 
*The Toll House Cookie was created by accident in 1924 when Ruth Graves chopped and mixed a chocolate bar into cookie dough, thinking it would melt into a chocolate cookie. Here’s the whole story.

[1] This recipe was made in both rectangular bars and squares, but you can use any chocolate mold you have (photos #1 and #2 © Hannah Kaminsky | Bittersweet Blog).

[2] Large bars (photo #1) make a more impressive gift, but smaller pieces are better for serving.

[3] Enstrom Peppermint Cookie Bark is our favorite, and a great holiday gift for a chocolate lover (photo © Enstrom).

[4] Use some of the bark to garnish ice cream (photo © Williams-Sonoma).

[5] We use Starlight Chocolate Peppermint Candies in our own recipe for peppermint bark (photo © Snackivore Store | Amazon).

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[1] Extra Dark Pretzels from Uncle Jerry’s are our new favorite (all photos © Uncle Jerry’s Pretzels).

[2] The eight-ounce bags are perfect for gift bags, stocking stuffers, and party favors.

[3] We lost our heart to these Peanut Butter Pretzel Bites, in dark or milk chocolate. If you’re a fan of chocolate-peanut butter cups, just wait until the salty crunch of pretzels is added.

[4] All chocolate-covered pretzels are available in dark and milk versions.

[5] A great suggestion: Serve the pretzels with a dish of peanut butter for dipping.

[6] Clockwise from top left: Peanut Butter Pretzel Bites, Caramel Pretzel Bites, Pretzel Bark, Chocolate-Covered Specials. All are available in both dark and milk chocolate.

[7] Our “happy plate”: Chocolate Covered Specials, Peanut Butter Pretzel Bites, Caramel Pretzel Bites.

Uncle Jerry’s Pretzels are handmade in the land of the Pennsylvania Dutch: Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Hard pretzels are among the most recognizable Pennsylvania Dutch foods*.

They’re a legacy of German settlers who came to Pennsylvania in the 18th century and became known, erroneously, as the Pennsylvania Dutch**.

So get ready to take a bite of our Top Pick Of The Week, in sizes just right for gift bags, party favors, and stocking stuffers.

> The history of pretzels.

> The history of chocolate-covered pretzels.

> A year of pretzel holidays, below.
 
 
UNCLE JERRY’S ARTISAN PRETZELS

Uncle Jerry’s Handmade Pennsylvania Dutch Pretzels is a family business that has been crafting artisan pretzels for more than 30 years in rural Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. It’s still run by Uncle Jerry, now with his daughter, Misty.

German immigrants, known as the Pennsylvania Dutch, brought pretzels to central southeastern Pennsylvania in the 18th century. Pretzels became a popular snack at markets and county fairs, and pretzel bakeries began to emerge. In fact, the region became known as the Pretzel Belt. More trivia:

 
But we’re here today to rave about Uncle Jerry’s contribution to this family of crunchy snacks.

You’ll taste the tradition that goes into every Uncle Jerry’s pretzel.
 
 
What’s Special About Uncle Jerry’s Pretzels?

While it seems as if the recipe for pretzels is pretty simple, we wondered tasted something special in Uncle Jerry’s pretzels.

Why, we asked, are Uncle Jerry’s Pretzels are so much more delicious than even the ones from our local farmers’ market?

Thus spake the Pretzel Oracle:

 
There may be another ingredient in the “secret sauce”: the local well water in Lancaster County.

 
 
OUR PERSONAL PICKS FROM UNCLE JERRY’S PRETZEL COLLECTION

While everything made here is delicious—whether sweet or savory (i.e., salted), we settled on three favorites for stocking stuffers: one savory and two sweet.

Extra Dark Pretzels. Until we tasted these, we’d never given a thought about what happens if you bake pretzel to the “well done” stage. Now, we only want well-done pretzels!

Called Extra Dark, this slower-baked-for-a-longer-time version of Uncle Jerry’s Specials (his name for traditional pretzels with the classic medium brown finish) rocked our world. As good as the Specials are, Extra Dark has an even crispier, crunchier texture due to the magic of Maillard.

While all pretzels undergo a Maillard reaction‡‡, Extra Dark is ultra-Maillard. We’re sure Dr. Maillard would have loved them. (Check out more about the Maillard Reaction in the footnote.)
 
Peanut Butter Pretzel Bites. These crunchy pretzels (the Specials) are dipped in smooth, creamy peanut butter, then enrobed in dark chocolate or milk chocolate.

OMG, so much more exciting than our former fave, the peanut butter cup!
 
Caramel Pretzel Bites. After devouring all of the Peanut Butter Pretzel Bites, we headed over to their caramel cousin. Covered in homemade caramel then enrobed in dark chocolate or milk chocolate, they’re sprinkled with a touch of sea salt.

Please note that due to the challenge of shipping chocolate in hot weather, the chocolate-enrobed pretzels are seasonal items, from mid-October through mid-April.
 
And There’s More.

 
What are you waiting for?
 
 
GET YOUR UNCLE JERRY’S PRETZELS

> Head to UncleJerrysPretzels.com.
 
 
PRETZEL HOLIDAYS & RELATED CELEBRATIONS

**“Dutch” is a misspelling of “Deutsch,” the German word for…German. The term is more properly “Pennsylvania German.” The so-called Pennsylvania Dutch have nothing to do with Holland, the Netherlands, or the Dutch language. They originally came from German-speaking areas of Europe.

***Why use these additives? It’s a matter of consumer tastes. Malt syrup, a type of sugar, adds a subtle sweetness and a richer, slightly malty taste. Oil helps to create a soft, chewy interior and a shiny, slightly crisp exterior.

†Pretzel Sunday, Bretzelsonndeg is celebrated on the fourth Sunday during Lent in Luxembourg. Pretzel Sunday marks the middle of the Lenten season and can fall on any date between March 1 and April 4. The holiday celebrates love with pretzels and eggs. Men give their sweethearts a pretzel as a token of their love (pretzels are symbolic, representing lovers’ interlocking arms). If the woman reciprocates, she gives the man an egg on Easter Sunday. If the woman is not interested, she gives the man an empty basket. Roles are reversed in leap year. The tradition dates back to the 18th century. The Luxembourgish expression De Kuerf kréien (to receive a basket) means “to be dumped.”

‡Oktoberfest in Munich, Germany begins in mid- or late-September and runs until the first Sunday in October.

‡‡Maillard Reaction. The brown caramel color and deeper flavor that occurs in certain foods—from caramels to barbecued, roasted and seared meats, to roasted coffee beans, to toasted bread, nuts and marshmallows—comes from a reaction between natural sugars and amino acids. This produces brown-colored compounds called melanoidins, which provides not just a brown color but a deeper flavor. It’s a form of non-enzymatic browning that usually requires heat. It’s called the Maillard (my-YARD) reaction after the French physician and chemist Louis Camille Maillard, who first described it in 1912.
 
 

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If you mention “pot roast” in the U.S., many people think of a hearty comfort food made by slow cooking a tough cut of beef in moist heat—chuck steak, short ribs, rump roast, and others. So what’s a carrot pot roast?

It’s a vegan alternative to beef pot roast, that can made the same way: on the stove top in a Dutch oven or pressure pressure cooker, in a slow cooker, or in the oven.

> The history of carrots. They were originally white, not orange (see photo #2).

> A year of carrot-related holidays is below.

> The history of pot roast is below.

> Check out these 15 beef pot roast recipes. They have spice accents ranging from Asian to Bavarian to Caribbean to Mediterranean and beyond (photos #6, #7, #8, #9).
 
 
RECIPE: CARROT POT ROAST

This is true comfort food, in addition to more healthful than beef and highly aromatic dinner.

The recipe is by Chef Jamie Simpson, Executive Chef Liaison at The Culinary Vegetable Institute. It’s excerpted from The Chef’s Garden: A Modern Guide to Common and Unusual Vegetables.

To achieve the right richness of texture and flavor, it’s essential to make the demi-glace in Step 8. See footnote†.

You can make it a week in advance or even earlier, as it freezes well.

> Gift idea: The Chef’s Garden grows the finest vegetables for top chefs. You can send someone a gift box. “>Take a look.
 
Ingredients For 4 Main Course Servings

 
Preparation

1. PREHEAT the oven to 375°F. If you have an exhaust vent, turn it on.

2. TOSS toss the carrots in a large bowl with the salt and flour.

3. HEAT a thin coating of vegetable oil in a large skillet until very hot. Add the carrots to the skillet and cook over high heat, turning occasionally, until they are deeply browned all over and even black in spots, about 15 minutes. Transfer the carrots to an ovenproof braising pan, about 10 inches in diameter.

4. REDUCE the heat under the skillet to medium high and add more oil if needed. Add the pearl onions and garlic, and cook until deeply browned and black in spots, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to the braising pan. With the heat still on medium high…

5. ADD the potatoes to the skillet and cook until charred, about 12 minutes. Transfer to the braising pan.

6. ADD the leek to the skillet and also cook until charred, about 3½ minutes. Transfer the leek to the braising pan.

7. ADD the wine to the skillet and cook, scraping up any browned and black bits from the bottom. Add the thyme and peppercorns, bring to a boil, and cook over medium-high heat until reduced by half, about 3 minutes.

8. TRANSFER the reduced wine to the braising pan. Add the demi-glace to the braising pan, then transfer the pan, uncovered, to the oven. Cook until the carrots are fork-tender, about 45 minutes. Let cool slightly. Remove and discard the thyme and peppercorns. While the oven is still hot…

9. HEAT four dinner plates. Use a slotted spoon to divide the vegetables among the plates. Set the pan over medium-high heat on the stovetop. When the liquid is just barely simmering, add the butter, slowly, whisking until melted. Spoon the liquid over the vegetables and serve.
 
 
THE HISTORY OF POT ROAST

Pot roast originated as a peasant dish in Europe. It was prepared by the slow cooking technique known as braising—a way for less affluent people to cook cheaper, tougher cuts of meat.

Different regions developed their own versions of what we know as American pot roast. For example:

 
The cooking method is more important than the recipe, since spices and liquids can vary.

The recipe begins by browning a cut of beef in fat; this step improves the flavor. The other ingredients (liquid, vegetables) are combined and then cooked low and slow in a covered dish.

While the toughness of their fibers makes some cuts of meat unsuitable for oven roasting, slow cooking for hours tenderizes them. The result is tender, succulent meat and a rich liquid that can be enjoyed as is or easily turned into a thicker gravy.

The term “pot roast” began appearing in American cookbooks in the late 19th century [source].

The less costly meat plus a recipe that is easy to prepare has made pot roast a popular dish.

In the U.S., a variation called Yankee pot roast‡, a New England specialty that originated in the 19th century.

A more recent creation from the American South, Mississippi Pot Roast‡‡ is made with chuck, ranch dressing mix, and a jar of pepperoncini chile peppers.

Ah, evolution!
 
 
CARROT HOLIDAYS & RELATED CELEBRATIONS

[1] A hearty, luscious, vegan carrot pot roast (photos #1 and #2 and recipe © Farmer Jones Farm® At The Chef’s Garden).

[2] Over the millennia, the original carrots, which were white, mutated into other colors.

[3] The recipe uses petite potatoes (also called baby or creamer potatoes), which are bite-sized versions of larger potato varieties. They can be bred to be small from any type of potato; they are mature potatoes (photo © Potato Goodness).

[4] A leek adds complexity of flavor and aromatics (photo © Good Eggs).

[5] Add a cup of red wine to the carrot stew pot, and drink the rest of the bottle with the dish (photo © Tribella).

[6] A pot roast with Caribbean flavors, including sweet potatoes, orange zest and baking cocoa. Here’s the recipe (photos #6, #7, #8, #9 © Taste Of Home).

[7] This German-accented pot roast includes sauerkraut, German mustard, chopped dill pickles, and sour cream. Here’s the recipe.

[8] Accents in this Moroccan-inspired pot roast include garbanzo beans, eggplant, honey and mint. Here’s the recipe.

[9] This Asian version is made with snow peas, scallions, and black bean sauce, and is served with rice. Here’s the recipe.

†Demi-glace can be frozen for up to six months. You can freeze it in ice cube trays and transfer the cubes to freezer bags. Add a cube of demi-glace to any sauce or stock for an extra flavor boost.

‡Yankee pot roast ingredients Common ingredients include beef chuck roast, carrots, celery, onions, and red wine (or apple juice/cider). Other vegetables that can be added include, mushrooms, parsnips, rutabaga, and turnips.

‡‡Mississippi Pot Roast: Robin Chapman, a home cook from Ripley, Mississippi, created the recipe in the 1990s, adapting her aunt’s pot roast recipe.
 
 

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