Merry Christmas! Celebrate with pie!

Paula Deen's Peppermint Pie has been a hit with my family for the past few years, and is now requested at the work potluck. It only takes a few ingredients, and is a good way to use up some candy canes! Her instructions are super simple, so here are some photos and notes to help-
See photos & notes



Step 1- Gather ingredients
Oreo makes the best chocolate crust in my opinion. I used these massive peppermint sticks to cut down on plastic waste.


Step 1a- Pour self a glass of wine
House Wine, love the label. The wine itself is just ok. The festive red glass makes the pie taste better.


Step 2- do you see what I see?
...uh-huh.


Step 3- smush!
Rolling pins, hammers, and other blunt objects work well.


Step 3- done!
Make sure they're nice & small, otherwise it'll take forever to melt.


Step 4- melt!
This is what it looks like when you first add the cream. It starts to take on that great pink color.


Step 4 continued
Keep the heat very low, and stir often.


You can take the opportunity to make a sandwich and refill your wine glass.


This is a good consistency, it won't all melt completely.


Step 5- secret trick
It always seems that a few solid pieces persist, so I strain out the mostly melted candy. Let it cool at room temperature, don't chill (the gelatin will make it solidify). Stir every 10 minutes or so while it's cooling, otherwise a skin forms on top.


Step 6- whip & fold!
For best results chill your bowl and whisk in the freezer before whipping. I have a stand mixer, so it makes super fast work of this step. (The mixer is also pink...hmm...)


Step 7- Fill crusts!
Don't worry if you have too much filling, or a few crumbs end up on top.


Sprinkles will fix it! I didn't fill these too high because they had to travel, so...


The extra filling goes well with hot cocoa or coffee, just be careful not to make a huge mess like I did...



Your tasty pink peppermint pies are done! Voila!

Enjoy, and Merry Christmas to you and yours!
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How-to: Folding Stars

I'm not quite sure why I was drawn to this little origami, other more complicated shapes have always frustrated me in the past. But I'm glad I gave it a go, because now I'm totally hooked. Here is a site with clear, well-photographed directions:

Foldastar.com

Commercial star-folding paper is available. Klutz makes a kit, which is sold at Kinokuniya bookstores. I've also seen it in craft stores, it runs about $7.00. I've seen packs of folding star paper ranging from $1 - $10+ in other places, like Pearl River Mart, or hole-in-the-wall Chinatown shops. (Have I mentioned lately that I love working in Manhattan?)

I prefer to make my own. Until two weeks ago this was accomplished by using a good old pair of scissors. I've upgraded to a guillotine style paper cutter, but still use the scissors a ton. Some tips:

* Practice on cheap scrap paper! Typical copier paper is a good weight to start with. This craft doesn't have to cost you a dime!

* Different papers need different sized strips- If your paper strips are too wide it will be difficult to get a good, sturdy star before running out of length. Generally the skinner the paper, the shorter the length required.

* Experiment! My favorite materials to make stars from include junk mail, catalogs, magazines, manga, maps, fliers, posters, etc.

* Stars can then be turned into jewelry, or displayed in bowls and jars. A word of caution- if you make a bowl of these at your desk warn co-workers that they are not candy!

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