The count-down to Christmas is well underway... and while I haven't written my Christmas cards yet, or managed to get my tree up and decorated, I WILL post a blog about my new Christmas inspired pops BEFORE the blessed day comes!
How did I become such a procrastinator during a time of year that I really love? The decorating and the parties and the FOOD... the giving of presents that make a face light up... Baking Day with mom that wasn't quite a tradition until the last few years, but better late than never... and the lights! A spectacle of delight that brightens the darkness and turns every man and woman into a child of expectant wonder.
Maybe it's overload... so much to see and do and all crammed into a single month of joyous celebration. There are so many choices during the holidays. So many ways to decorate the tree... themed? traditional? red and gold? hot pink?! so many songs to hear piped over store speakers and elevators and in the next car over in traffic where the driver is singing at the top of his lungs and didn't realize his window was cracked slightly open. so many delicious goodies... from spiced apple or pumpkin pies, fruit cake and spiced cake and gingerbread.
I knew I wanted simple and evocative. A shock to the palate, but undeniable in its Christmas spirit. I started with the one thing you can't escape during the holidays. Peppermint.
I don't know about you, but the one thing I never fail to get for Christmas is a handful of peppermint candy canes. One or two, I may actually eat, but the rest usually sit in my coffee mug at my desk at work until it's Easter and I realize I've left those babies sitting in abandoned, procrastinated shame like that neighbor that waited until the 4th of July to take his Christmas lights down.
So for once, I want those peppermint candies to feel that I've done right by them... and long-winded intro coming finally to its end (or am I just making up for the fact that my last post was barely a few sentences?) I give you Peppermint Crush: chocolate cake smothered in milk chocolate and topped with shiny chunks of beautiful crushed peppermint candy.
