Holiday "baking" - Candy Cane Oreo Treats

What do you do when you...
1. Love Christmas
2. Love getting gifts for friends and family
but
3. Are two thousand miles away from family and therefore need travel-friendly options
and
4. Are pretty broke at the moment?

Our first Austin Christmas back in 2013

Answer: Melt lots of chocolate in the microwave and try to be as careful as possible.

I am a messy, accident-prone cook. I discovered this while living at home with my parents: I can go over the kitchen five times with every cleaner I can think of and I will STILL miss a glaringly huge area that I somehow just didn't see. I decided that I would try to keep my mess as contained as possible and create stovetop-only goodies since I've had more than enough kitchen foibles already, using as little kitchen space as possible for this endeavor.

Enter: white chocolate covered Oreos.

Chocolate dipped Oreos are one of my favorite candy-counter goodies, despite the fact that they are SO easy to make at home. Simply melt chocolate, dip Oreos, top with candy. BOOM. Done.

I amped up the Christmasy-factor here by using HEB* brand Christmas Sandwich Cookies--Oreo-knockoffs with a peppermint flavored, red center--and dipping them in Almond Bark white chocolate AND topping them with crushed candy canes. The result is something that tastes amazing, feels fancy, and costs about $5 total for four packs of five cookies.

*HEB is a grocery store out here that I am in LOVE with. The organic and gluten free selection is vast AND affordable, and if you roam around midday on a weekday you can make yourself a lunch out of the free samples. Plus the in-store coupons are incredible. Definitely my favorite supermarket of all time, maybe only second to my favorite local shop back in MA.

December in Austin: 70 degrees and sunny!

Peppermint Bark Oreos

• 1 Pack Christmas-themed or Peppermint flavored Oreos
• 2 16oz bags white chocolate chips OR 2 packages white chocolate almond bark
• 2 candy canes
• 1/2 tsp peppermint extract (optional)

-Pulverize candy canes in a food processor or use a hammer and a ziplock bag

-Melt white chocolate according to directions (I typically do a minute half power, stir, then 30 second half power increments but this will depend on the brand) gently fold in peppermint extract.

-Dip Oreos and turn until well coated. Place on wax paper in a cookie sheet. Continue for entire pack.

-Before chocolate has set, sprinkle candy cane dust on top of cookies. Place cookie sheet in fridge and let harden for ten minutes.

PS. I also made nut brittle, pistachio bark, puppy chow, and fudge for gifts. Which would you like me to post recipes for?