Holiday Teas and Peppermint Bars

December is flying by. So far this month we've celebrated the one month anniversary of our LizzKate's online store, shipped your orders all over the US, mailed the December Tea of the Month teas and hosted a 'Teas the Season holiday party. Is it January yet?!

Based on informal feedback from the party, some of the favorite teas were White Christmas, Decaf Hot Cinnamon Spice, Kenilworth Ceylon, and Mango Green! The tea cocktails were also well received and we'll be posting those recipes soon.

Here's the recipe for the very popular Peppermint Bars which many people requested.

Ingredients
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1½ cup unsalted butter melted and cooled slightly
1 cup sugar
⅔ cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 cups white chocolate chips
1-3 t. vegetable oil (to thin topping)
1 ½ -2 cups. small candy canes crushed (put them in a ziplock bag and crush them with a hammer)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°. Line a 13 inch by 18 inch baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper. Spray with cooking spray or cover with a light layer of melted butter.

In a medium mixing bowl, stir together flour, baking soda and salt. In a large bowl stir in melted butter, both sugars and vanilla until smooth. Stir in flour mixture until just blended. Stir in 2 cups of the white chocolate chips and 1 cup crushed candy canes.

Press dough onto the lined cookie sheet. Bake for about 15-20 minutes until dough looks just barely set and golden (do not to bake too long or they will be hard to cut).

After removing from oven, set a timer for 5 min. When timer goes off, take a knife and score the bars into pieces (small squares or triangles). Allow bars to finish cooling.

When cool, melt the remaining 1 cup of white chocolate chips in microwave 30 sec at a time until melted. Drizzle over bars. If you need to thin the chocolate glaze, add a few drops of vegetable oil to chocolate.

Sprinkle remaining peppermint pieces over glaze and allow to set. Then cut or break them into squares or triangle pieces.  Depending on the size of your pieces, this makes enough to serve at a party or take as a hostess gift (with tea).

(This recipe is slightly modified from the book Entertaining with Amy - not me, but Amy Lawrence of An Afternoon to Remember, a tea store in Bothell, WA. I had the pleasure of meeting her at the NW Tea Festival this October.)