Candy Cane Hell

Yikes!  Ever since Thanksgiving, I've been thinking Christmas fell on a Saturday this year.  I've been counting on Christmas falling on a Saturday.  Imagine my total surprise/freak out/nervous breakdown yesterday when I looked a little closer at the calendar and realized it falls on a Friday. BAM!  In an instant, 24 hours of preparation time gone.  Just gone.  24 hours, gone.  Holy Moly.

So, I'm stepping up, doing everything in double time & basically being a complete be-otch to anyone who crosses my path.  I suggest you stay far, far away.

Unwrapping Candy Canes

Besides being in total be-otch panic mode, it's also Christmas Hell day.  The day I have to take the sticky, staticy cellophane off six boxes of candy canes & grind them up to make candy cane sugar.  In other words, Christmas Hell day.

Candy Cane Static Cling

Unwrapping the candy canes is a nightmare of a job because the static in the cellophane makes the wrappers stick to you, it's impossible to see the wrapper when on the candy cane so you're never positive you've gotten it all off and after unwrapping the third or fourth candy cane, your fingers are sticky and you are head to toe static cling bits of cellophane but you can't wipe your fingers on a damp cloth to de-sticky them because you don't want the candy canes to get wet.  It's a pure Christmas Hell nightmare.  But, it's so worth it!

If you are up for having your own Christmas Hell day, I highly recommend it.  After you've unwrapped the candy canes, grind them up until they are powdery in the blender or food processor.  Putting a coffee filter over the lid of which ever machine you use helps to keep the candy cane dust from escaping.  I know that sounds weird, but just trust me.  If you try it, use a coffee filter!  Once you have powdered candy cane, you replace half the white sugar in your favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe with the ground up candy cane.  The result is Amazing!  Amazing with a capital A!  You not only get peppermint chocolate chip cookies with a slight festive pink tint, but the candy cane sugar does something to the dough to make the cookies softer & chewier.  They are freaking delicious!

As a word of caution, if you want the peppermint chocolate chip cookies without the fun of Christmas Hell day, you can use peppermint extract but the flavor isn't quite as good and the texture is no where near the same.  You must experience Christmas Hell in order to experience the deliciousness of a real candy cane chocolate chip cookie.