As a way of being more frugal this Christmas, I set out to make as many gifts as I could starting with my immediate family. First I knitted gloves for my husband, a glove ornament for my son, and a garter knit hat for my daughter. After folding over one hundred paper airplanes using holiday themed catalogs (we get so many in the mail), I turned my attention to making edible gifts not only for my family but for our extended family members as well.
One of the things that my husband absolutely loves are homemade honey roasted peanuts. I have a special recipe that I make only for him. These peanuts mimic his favorite ice cream flavor, Bangkok Peanut with a hint of heat and a nuance of coconut. These little morsels are quite addictive so I only make them for very special occasions.
Keeping with the peanut theme, I also made several batches of peanut brittle not only to gift to my husband and son (while my daughter is allowed to have chocolate, she is not quite old enough for hard candies) but also as Christmas gifts for our siblings and parents (our children’s aunts, uncles, and grandparents). No one else in our families make peanut brittle so it always makes a much appreciated and tasty gift.
I did not stop with just peanut brittle, I also made another Christmas classic: Peppermint Bark! Making this decadent minty treat is a rather time consuming and exhausting endeavor but well worth the effort. It begins with chopping about five pounds of dark chocolate and four pounds of white chocolate. Each chocolate is tempered to perfection with constant stirring and temperature monitoring. In order to reach the optimum temper, the chocolate must be melted to a very specific temperature, then evenly cooled about thirty degrees, and finally reheated about five degrees. It is a pretty crazy process but the end result is shiny, smooth, and hard snap chocolate with a layer of dark chocolate, a layer of white chocolate, and topped with crushed peppermint candies…
(To be continued…)