Christmas Treats - Dec 14, 2010

Peppermint Bark and Marshmallow 'Wreaths'

I made a couple batches of Christmas sweets over the weekend. First is a new favorite recipe from last year, published in Bon Appetit and online here. The peppermint bark is easy to make, tastes fantastic, and looks quite festive.

The next I have no excuse for, other than I was experiencing some hard-core food nostalgia. These childhood favorites seriously danced through my head as though they were sugar plums; frighteningly and artificially green sugar plums. I actually went to three different grocery stores looking for those little red hots, known as 'cinnamon imperials' in some circles, because we all know that they absolutely 'make' the marshmallow wreaths. Although actually, I can't in good consciousness even call what I made wreaths. I was far too impatient and the medium was far too sticky for that kind of high class sculpting. No, Dinner Clubbers, my creations are affectionately referred to around here as Christmas 'clumps.' And, in the interest of full disclosure, sometimes I call them lovely lady clumps. The fact that I used high fiber multi-grain breakfast flakes purchased from the bulk aisle at the Co-op, fortified with omega-3's and folic acid, doesn't come close to making up for the fact that these lovely little clumps stand for nearly everything I am apposed to in our collective diets. Oh well, sometimes, against all reason, I need high fructose corn syrup-packed, artificially colored, and highly processed foodstuff in my life. I also really love Cheetos. You're my friends, so I know you'll forgive me my cravings.