sweet holidays.

so our christmas story continues...

we had planned for a fun-filled family outing with friends this weekend. mostly to tag along & have the experience of snowshoeing, as they hunted the forest for their tree. well...the grinch struck again. michael came home on saturday & said that he would have to go into work on sunday. yes, sunday. the only thing that would be make this story more of a bummer, would have been if he really only had to be there for two hours...oh wait! yes, that's all that he needed to stay. so it was enough time so we had to cancel our outing, but not enough time for us to catch up with the tree hunters. ugh. moving on...

i decided to tackle some holiday baking today! i made my final trip to the store before we head back to the midwest...& it BETTER be the final trip. i strategically planned out our meals (which is obnoxious & makes me feel like a lunch lady, no offense). it's just one thing that i don't want to have to mess with before we leave. i mixed up my favorite snack mix (donna, i know you're drooling) & pulled a new (but old) brownie recipe out of my stack of "to-make-someday" pile. i had this thing sitting for about 2 years now. and i finally became brave enough. i mean, when i have to study the recipe numerous times because i'm dealing with scoring, double-boiling & ganashing...then you know i must be in the holiday spirit. because these things just don't happen on a daily basis around here. i will happily leave you the recipe for you to attempt as well. of course, mine are only semi-martha stewart-ish...because, i don't think she has an ambitious one-year old cussing at the christmas tree or locking himself in the laundry room. oh the holidays!

peppermint topped brownies.

ingredients.

10 tbsp butter, plus more for pan.

6 oz of good-quality bittersweet chocolate, broken into large chunks.

3 eggs.

1 1/2 cups sugar.

1 tbsp vanilla.

1/4 tsp salt.

1 cup all-purpose flour.

1/2 cup cocoa powder.

1/2 tsp baking powder.

80 hard, round red & white peppermint swirl candies (17oz).

1/2 lb (8oz) semisweet chocolate, chopped.

1 cup whipping cream.

directions.

(just beware, it's a time consuming one!)

preheat to 350.

butter a 9x13 in baking pan.

in medium saucepan, stir butter & bittersweet chocolate over very low heat with a heatproof rubber spatula until just melted (do not simmer or boil). remove from heat & let cool slightly (5 mins).

in a large bowl, whisk together eggs, sugar, vanilla & salt. slowly pour in chocolate-butter mixture, whisking constantly. into a seperate bowl, mix flour, cocoa powder & baking powder. with a rubber spatula, gently fold flour mixture into egg mixture until just combined.

spread batter evenly in the baking pan. bake 20-30 mins or until brownies are firm, beginning to pull away from the sides of the pan & a toothpick inserted in the center emerges with only a few crumbs clinging to it. let brownies cool completely in the pan on a wire rack.

reduce oven heat to 300. line a level rimmed 11 1/2x16 in baking sheet with parchment paper. with a pencil, draw a grid of 1 3/4 in squares (5 rows of 8), leaving about a 1 inch border & turn parchment over. place a mint in the center of each square (i would push them more close together than further apart, as mine decided to not completely all mold as one). bake 15-25 mins or until completely melted into 1 large sheet, but remove before candy turns yellow. immediately score peppermint squares with a pizza cutter, using the pencil lines as a guide. if scored lines don't hold, rescore quickly. let candy cool completely. gently break into squares along score lines. arrange, bake & score remaining 40 candies the same way.

in the top of a double boiler or a metal bowl set over simmering water, combine chopped semisweet chocolate & whipping cream. cook, stirring often, until melted & blended. remove from heat & let ganache cool until just warm.

pour ganache over cooled brownies in pan & allow to set until firm (about 2 hrs at room temp or 1 hour in fridge).

place peppermint squares bottom side up on ganache, leaving enough space between squares to cut brownies. cut brownies into squares along edges of peppermint tops. wiping knife clean between cuts. remove brownies from pan, discard (eat) scraps. and return brownies to pan. cover with plastic wrap, making sure wrap doesn't touch peppermint & refrigerate 3 hours (to soften candy). serve slightly chilled.

so there you have it, in case you have 6 hours on your hands & don't know what to do with them ;) believe me, mine was more like an all-day process & well, you saw the finished result. but yummy! and then, i will just leave you with some random photos of oliver & my day. i have set up a workspace & am quite fond of it. it gives me a place to retreat in silence if i need to. yet, oliver did show me how he can climb onto the chair & onto the table. so the door to my space is now under 24-hr surveillance little mr...by santa clause!

oliver's 'home alone' rendition...