1. All this week we’ll be coming up with easy food gifts that you don’t have to make with your oven. The first one up is this super simple peppermint chocolate bark. Click through to read how to put it all together! As always, check labels (or company websites) to make sure the ingredients you use are vegan. Bark Supplies a 24 oz. bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips 1 tsp mint extract 4-5 candy canes parchment or wax paperBark Instructions Line a rimmed flat baking sheet with the parchment/wax paper. In a double boiler (or, if you’re unequipped like me, a small pot inside a large pot filled 1/4 with water) melt your bag of chocolate chips with the mint extract, until it’s consistently smooth and creamy. Be careful to stir slowly - if you do it too fast the chocolate will seize up and become hard. (Not that I’ve ever done that or anything….) Meanwhile, crush the candy canes with a hammer or in a food processor/blender. When the chocolate’s melted, pour it into the baking sheet. Spread it out carefully until the whole pan is filled. Sprinkle the top with the crushed candy cane. If you want to keep the top very flat, lay another piece of parchment/wax paper on top and roll it with a rolling pin. Freeze for a few hours, at least one hour. How I packaged these bark pieces: Break the bark into small pieces. Wrap in tissue paper, then tie it up with twine. Get some small gift boxes - I got mine from a craft store in the baking aisle. Before assembling, write your message on the box - I carved “to” and “from” stamps myself, but you could just as easily draw/write it out. Put the bark in the box, then tape it shut with some washi or decorative tape. Make sure to keep the bark in the freezer until you plan to give it away. Hope you like this little project, and find it easy enough to make! :)
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    All this week we’ll be coming up with easy food gifts that you don’t have to make with your oven. The first one up is this super simple peppermint chocolate bark. Click through to read how to put it all together!

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    December 17, 2012
  2. hot apple cider i’ve never had such amazing cider until this year - first at the kickstarter hq, then at a craft show i did recently. suddenly i really wanted to try making this for myself, and i’m so glad i did. it’s just as warming as hot chocolate or tea but a perfect weight - not as heavy as hot chocolate, not as light as a quick cup of tea. plus it makes the house smell amazing, which is a great bonus. pour into a pot some apple cider. i do about half a gallon jug at a time, as some of it cooks away and i’ll drink a lot of it at one time. use whole spices here if you can, but if not that’s fine too. place into the pot 3 cinnamon sticks (about a tbsp ground cinnamon), 1 tbsp whole cloves, 1 star anise, a sprinkling of ground ginger, and 1 tsp nutmeg. (for those larger spices, try using a tea infuser instead of just throwing them in the pot. it makes it easier later to control the flavor.) let the pot heat on medium low, covered, for about 10-15 minutes. taste the cider to see if it needs more of a certain spice or if it needs more cider to tamper down the spice taste. if everything’s good, turn the heat to low and, if used, take out the tea infuser and whole cinnamon sticks. keep on low heat and stir before serving. we drank this with these great peanut butter blondies from the post punk kitchen. (we used chocolate peanut butter, though, so they look like brownies, really. but they’re sooo good!) anyway, hope you’ll like this cider as much as we do!
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    hot apple cider

    i’ve never had such amazing cider until this year - first at the kickstarter hq, then at a craft show i did recently. suddenly i really wanted to try making this for myself, and i’m so glad i did. it’s just as warming as hot chocolate or tea but a perfect weight - not as heavy as hot chocolate, not as light as a quick cup of tea. plus it makes the house smell amazing, which is a great bonus.

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    December 6, 2011
  3. baked bourbon apples with maple cinnamon walnuts these are so easy to make, but look spectacular to a group of friends and/or family. if you don’t consume alcohol you can easily substitute the bourbon with some flavored agave or apple or pear juice. core some apples, one per person is enough. if you don’t have an apple corer, just use a paring knife. be careful not to poke through the bottom, though! place the apples in a baking pan, or in individual ramekins. in the center holes you just created, pour in each: 1 tbsp pure maple syrup, 1 tbsp bourbon*, and 1 tbsp apple cider. if it spills out, don’t worry about it at all - it’s good to have some liquid in the pan here. (*you can use a non-alcoholic alternative as mentioned above. if you’re out of bourbon but still want the alcohol, you can freely use amaretto, wine, or brandy. [apple brandy would be especially good in this!]) sprinkle cinnamon and nutmeg over the tops of the apples, and stick a whole cinnamon stick in the liquid of each. bake at 450F for 20-30 minutes, or until the apples are soft but not mushy. a few minutes before the apples are done, make the walnuts. pour into a small sautee pan about 1/3 cup walnuts per person you’re serving.  drizzle maple syrup over them and dust on some cinnamon. stirring constantly, let them cook on medium heat for just a few minutes. let cool on some parchment paper until the apples are done. to serve, place each hot apple in a bowl and cut it into slices. sprinkle the walnuts over top and enjoy!
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    baked bourbon apples with maple cinnamon walnuts

    these are so easy to make, but look spectacular to a group of friends and/or family. if you don’t consume alcohol you can easily substitute the bourbon with some flavored agave or apple or pear juice.

    1. core some apples, one per person is enough. if you don’t have an apple corer, just use a paring knife. be careful not to poke through the bottom, though!
    2. place the apples in a baking pan, or in individual ramekins.
    3. in the center holes you just created, pour in each: 1 tbsp pure maple syrup, 1 tbsp bourbon*, and 1 tbsp apple cider. if it spills out, don’t worry about it at all - it’s good to have some liquid in the pan here. (*you can use a non-alcoholic alternative as mentioned above. if you’re out of bourbon but still want the alcohol, you can freely use amaretto, wine, or brandy. [apple brandy would be especially good in this!])
    4. sprinkle cinnamon and nutmeg over the tops of the apples, and stick a whole cinnamon stick in the liquid of each.
    5. bake at 450F for 20-30 minutes, or until the apples are soft but not mushy.

    a few minutes before the apples are done, make the walnuts.

    1. pour into a small sautee pan about 1/3 cup walnuts per person you’re serving. 
    2. drizzle maple syrup over them and dust on some cinnamon.
    3. stirring constantly, let them cook on medium heat for just a few minutes.
    4. let cool on some parchment paper until the apples are done.

    to serve, place each hot apple in a bowl and cut it into slices. sprinkle the walnuts over top and enjoy!

    December 5, 2011