Be peppy for Peppermint Patties

Alrighty, so Thanksgiving break was a wee bit busier than expected. I slept some days and didn't sleep much other days. Weird how it works. Thanksgiving was good! I made cornbread and peppermint patties to contribute to the feast. The whole pan of cornbread was eaten and at least 3 different family members asked me what was in the peppermint patties/what the recipe was. That shows that they are awesome, right? Muahahaha, success! That shows my mom for thinking that there would be too much leftover. Psh. My aunt and uncle took the rest of the peppermint patties for an OSU vs. MI party that was happening on Saturday.

Since my grandparents leave for warmer weather in the winter, they always hand out our gifts and we open their presents at thanksgiving. My grandma got me a casserole pan, a dip chiller, a christmas glass mug, and a chefs hat, among other things. She made me put on the chefs hat (which she put my name on) and took pictures. She also told me that I shouldn't go for my masters in English and that I should have gone to culinary school. Oh well. Hehe. At least I know someone who supports my dreams. My parents on the other hand, are pushing me to find a job. Yea, graduation... and job... bleh. Probably going to be something like 2 jobs rather than 1 unfortunately.

But yes, break went by way too fast. I slept in a bit too much and then had trouble sleeping some nights, which was weird. But alas, I am back on campus for 3 weeks before going home to bake a million Christmas cookies. That's getting a bit ahead, though. Hmmm... I cooked a few things while I was at home, but some of them are repeats of what I have already blogged... just because we had the ingredients on hand. Not to worry, though! I have plenty of recipes up my sleeve and time to blog away about them... well... I at least will make time to blog. Not blogging every day has really thrown me off. It's crazy. Anyway... in this blog (that I am quickly writing before The Next Iron Chef comes on) I will divulge the peppermint patty recipe so that you all may spread the loveliness. I think I am going to whip up a batch or two for Christmas. Maybe take them around to the neighbors, along with some other baked goodies. Ya know... neighborly things.

Peppermint Patties (adapted from: Savory Sweet Life)

Ingredients:

• 1 can of sweetened condensed milk
• 5 and 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• approx 3 tsp. peppermint extract (the recipe says 1 tsp, but that was not enough! Just adapt to your taste.)
• 3 and 1/2 cups chocolate chips 
• 3 Tbsp. shortening (I used 1 Tbsp. butter flavor and 2 of plain)

Equipment:

• mixer with paddle attachment (or you could hand mix if you really want to)
• spatula
• cutting board/ baking tray
• wax paper
• microwaveable bowl



Before dipping

• fork

Instructions:

Layering

Dipped

1. Combine the whole can of sweetened condensed milk, 2 cups of powdered sugar, and 3 tsp. of peppermint extract in your mixer bowl. Using the paddle attachment (should look like this), mix the ingredients until combined. 
2. Add 1/2 cup of powdered sugar at a time until you have added all the powdered sugar (you will be adding 3.5 cups or 7 of the 1/2 cups). Make sure you keep track of your powdered sugar counting! The dough should be stiff but pliable. 
3. Roll into 3/4 inch balls. Place the balls onto a sheet of wax paper over the cutting board (wax paper on cutting board). 
4. Smash the balls into disks. Layer the wax paper sheets if you need to in order to fit all of the disks.
5. Pop the tray/cutting board into the freezer for no more than 30 minutes. 
6. Temper the chocolate. Take the 3 cups of chocolate chips and put them into the microwaveable bowl. Heat in 30 second increments, stirring after each time of heating. Make sure not to overheat the chocolate! It will be melted and smooth. The stirring after each 30 seconds prevents burning.
7. After the chocolate is melted, add the 3 Tbsp. of shortening. If you need to, put the bowl back into the microwave for 15 seconds to melt the shortening. Stir well.
8. Grab the disks out of the freezer and grab your fork. Place a long sheet of wax paper near your bowl of melted chocolate. 
9. Take a disk, lower it into the chocolate on top of the fork and then use the fork to shovel the chocolate over the disk and cover it. Quickly lift the patty out with the fork again. Place the patty onto the prepped wax paper sheet. 
10. Let cool. When they are dry to the touch, they are ready to chill out in the fridge and await eating.

Even though the list of steps seems long, the process takes no more than 40 minutes. You get a lot of patties out of this. I was so done with rolling balls of minty dough that I eventually made godzilla patties. As I said before, these got rave reviews and I hope that you all get a chance to try them out! 

Enjoy! As always...

Bon appétit! 

P.S. Happy Thanksgiving! (belated of course)

Like my drawing? :P