Candy question

[thebaker]

My new boss has come to me with an idea he saw in a magazine

he saw chocolate drops with crushed candy canes on them,

they are disk like about a little less than an inch round with crushed candy canes on the top and nothing on the bottom,

to him they are melted chocolate but i know there is more to them then that,

any one have any ideas

he wants them for thanksgiving

thanks much

[Badiane]

It probably is just melted chocolate...it's like bark, only with candy canes instead of nuts. I make it every Christmas. Dead easy. Just melt some good quality chocolate, stir in a handful of crushed canes, drop onto parchment and sprinkle with more candy canes.

I mean no offence, and certainly understand you wanting to make him something nicer than melted chocolate with crushed candy canes, but seriously, if the boss thinks it's melted chocolate, why do you want to complicate your life searching for something else? If it's chocolate he wants, lay it on him He's not going to know or appreciate the difference, is he? You could spend days searching, hours making, and he's just going to say 'Oh, I thought it was just melted chocolate'. Save your extra effort for those you know will appreciate it.

[Becca Porter]

You describe mendiants. You have to make sure and temper the chocolate though. Otherwise, you would have to keep them refrigerated and they wouldn't look or taste as good.

Use good quality bittersweet chocolate. They can be topped with nuts or dried fuits as well. Just keep it simple.

-Becca

[jgarner53]

I have to say, for all the hard work I put in last year making a variety of candies for Christmas presents, by far the most popular was the peppermint bark (and by far the easiest).

But yes, like Becca said, you should temper the chocolate.

[Genny]

White chocolate is also very festive to use with the crushed candy canes. I did this last year but dipped pretzel sticks in the chocolate and then covered with the candy canes. It really is super easy.

[Trishiad]

Okay, seriously, I make artisinal chocolates for a living, right? Every year my father in law hints for months for some peppermint bark. I toss it together with leftover tempered chocolate and let my son whack the peppermints in a bag with a hammer. You can't really screw them up and folks really do love 'em.

[freddurf]

I might have to try these, they sound so easy. What kind of chocolate goes best with the candy canes, milk or dark?

[Trishiad]

I use a dark in the mid 50's. I find that the higher percentages have more caramel or fruit flavors and aren't really the best with the big flavor of crushed peppermint candies.

[jgarner53]

I do my bark with a layer of about 60% chocolate, topped with a layer of white chocolate, then the canes. I add a few drops of peppermint oil (not extract) to each of the chocolates to hike up the peppermint flavor a bit.

[freddurf]

Can anyone give me a chocolate to candy cane ratio?

[CanadianBakin']

I do my bark with a layer of about 60% chocolate, topped with a layer of white chocolate, then the canes. I add a few drops of peppermint oil (not extract) to each of the chocolates to hike up the peppermint flavor a bit.

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I just saw some like this for sale recently and it looked really nice. Just a thin layer of dark on the bottom like a crust, then the white chocolate and the crushed candies.

[Trishiad]

I saw some in the Harry and David catalog that I think may be the ones your boss saw. I think they were made by filling a sheet pan with a layer of crushed peppermints then dropping a dollop of dark chocolate on top. Kind of like a traditional turtle would start.

[thebaker]

Thanks all for your help

Instead of those candies I am going to make cookies (the ones on the cover of the december bon appetit magazine)