advertisement

A new - and improved - way to eat peppermint bark

I have always loved peppermint and chocolate together and peppermint bark is my favorite way to eat it.

Or it was - until I created this peppermint bark variation of my favorite childhood Christmas cookie.

My mother made Spritz cookies every Christmas for as long as I can remember. She always made the simple butter cookies in both chocolate and vanilla and we decorated them with colored sugar sprinkles. My favorite shape was the poinsettia, because you could eat the cookie one petal at a time.

The hardest thing about making this recipe is using the cookie press. There is no way around it - you need a cookie press. My mother used her mother's cookie press until it stopped working and since then, we have both purchased many cookie presses trying to find one that was smooth and easy to work.

Take the basic chocolate spritz cookie recipe and decorate with melted chocolate, sprinkling with crushed peppermint candies and drizzling with white chocolate. Associated Press

A cookie press looks like the culinary version of a caulking gun and deposits only enough dough to make one cookie. I tried quite a few presses, and the best one that I have found so far is the OXO cookie press. I also love that it comes with all the traditional patterns like the Christmas tree, wreath and flowers, but also has an elegant fleur de lis and a heart. You can buy seasonal discs and make spritz year round. The extra Christmas discs also have a great bow design that would be perfect for baby and bridal shower parties.

Once you have a good press, all you need to make the cookie dough is a bowl and a blending fork, or your hands. I've taken the basic chocolate spritz cookie recipe and instead of decorating with sugar, I decorate with melted chocolate, sprinkling with crushed peppermint candies and drizzling with white chocolate to create my Peppermint Bark Spritz Cookie.

Elizabeth Karmel is a barbecue and Southern foods expert. She is the chef and pitmaster at online retailer CarolinaCueToGo.com and the author of three books, including “Taming the Flame.”

Article Comments
Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.