The end of school for this year is almost here and it’s really hard to believe. Wasn’t it just yesterday that I was freaking out about catching the school bus, and adjusting to having two kids in school? Surely it was mere days ago that I was figuring out how to pack cool lunches for Will and worrying that he had enough to fill him up at lunch. Right?

Ok, ok. We all know that was really10 months ago. It just went so fast. Where did the time go?

Now that school is ending, we like to give tokens of appreciation to the teachers and bus drivers who made a difference in my kids lives this year. And after three years of having at least one child in school, I have the whole appreciation gift thing in control. (Well, at least in better control than in years past.) Sort of.

I decided on a dual gift for the teachers — something special from my kitchen and a gift certificate.  For Teacher Appreciation Week, I’d given a few of the teachers Chocolate Chip Banana Bread in a Jar, so that was out (along with anything else in a jar). And I wanted it to be something a little bigger — something they could share if they wanted. Mini-loaves of bread were the perfect solution.

I went with this mouthwatering recipe for Cinnamon Zucchini Bread Mini-Loaves. They have a lighter crumb and a fabulous, rich flavor. If you’ve never had zucchini in bread before, ignore that it’s in the title and try this anyway. As long as you like cinnamon, you will love this bread. The zucchini lends a moist crumb to this bread along with speckles of green — but that’s it. So, don’t fear the zucchini, I swear.

When I was making this, I modeled this bread after my Cinnamon-alicious Zucchini Bread. But really, they are different loaves. This one is a little less sweet, but with a bigger punch of cinnamon. Try it warmed, it’s so good like that.

What’s your favorite food gift to give?

Cinnamon Zucchini Bread Mini-Loaves
yields 3 loaves

1 1/2 all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp kosher salt
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg (preferably fresh)
1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 cup organic sugar
2/3 cup light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup grated fresh zucchini
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Set 3 mini-loaf pans on a baking sheet.

In a small mixing bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Set aside.

In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the canola oil, organic sugar and light brown sugar. Add the eggs, one at a time, whisking well after each addition.

Stir the zucchini and vanilla extract into the wet ingredients. Add the dry ingredients and stir until just moistened.

Divide the batter evenly among the three mini-loaf pans. Slide the baking sheet into the oven and bake for 35-40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the bread comes out clean.

Let cool on a wire rack.

Cover tightly and then eat within 3-5 days.

Peppermint. Dark chocolate. White chocolate. Those flavors together just scream winter and holidays and good times. It’s hard to believe that I went so many years without tasting this delightful combination, but ever since I did, I’ve been hooked. Love it.

In the past few years, I’ve made a delicious (and easy!) Dark Chocolate Peppermint Bark, created some simply irresistible Deconstructed Peppermint Bark Cookies and a decadent Chocolate Peppermint Pie. There was also a chocolate peppermint roulade, which I must have never blogged about. In any case, I wanted one more to my chocolate peppermint list: Peppermint Bark Coated Pretzels.

Oh, these are divine. They take all the goodness of regular peppermint bark and wrap it around a small, salty pretzel. A little crunch, a little sweet, a little salt … oh what a combination.

Make up a batch of these babies and give ‘em away this week. Or, maybe just eat them yourself. They are amazing.

Peppermint Bark Coated Pretzels

9 oz dark chocolate, chopped into pieces
1/4 tsp peppermint extract
2 cups mini pretzel twists
3 oz white chocolate
1/4 cup crushed peppermint candy canes

Melt the dark chocolate in the top of a double boiler. Once it’s fully melted and smooth, stir in the peppermint extract. Then drop a few pretzels in at a time, using a skewer or fork to flip and then fish out. Set the chocolate covered pretzels on a sheet of waxed paper to harden.

Once the chocolate is hardened, melt the white chocolate in the top of a double boiler. Drizzle over the pretzels and then sprinkle with the crushed peppermint. Let harden completely and then package for giving … or just devour them yourself.

Saturday was going to be a busy day. I knew that before I went to bed on Friday. Will had a birthday party to go to. We had plans of getting a Christmas tree (which didn’t happen … who knew that tree sellers would close before 7 p.m. on a Saturday, two weeks before Christmas. Sigh.). There was cleaning to be done and organizing. But I woke up wanting scones in a bad, bad way. So I made them anyway.

The interesting thing about scones is how unbelievably easy they are to make. You sift (I use a wire whisk – it makes sifting a breeze), beat and stir a little. Then you pat it all down and slice the dough into wedges. It takes 10 minutes, max.

But I have to admit, scone dough can be a little confusing. It’s dry and crumbly in a way that can make you so uncomfortable. You can’t help but wonder if it’s really moist enough to bind together. Even as someone who has made scones in the past, I find myself wondering if it’s just not going to work this time. But the key is to trust – trust that the crumbly dough will hold together once you pat it down and cut it … and really. It will.

I used to only make drop scones – the ones in perfectly deformed mound shapes. The first scones I ever ate came in that shape, so I stuck with it. But honestly, wedge shaped ones are just easier, especially if you use a pizza cutter to slice them. And the wedge shapes are so pretty too.

And one last thing: if you think scones are dry, spit-stealing little hockey pucks, then you’ve never had a good, just-made scone. Sure, they do get that way after a few days. But freshly baked, the crunchy outside gives way to a soft, warm interior. They aren’t sweet like a muffin, instead taking on a more biscuit-like flavor that’s enhanced with the shots of sweet and tart from the mix-ins. With coffee, a scone is just divine.

See also Raspberry White Chocolate Muffins.

Honestly, I blame my slight obsession on the Meyer Lemon Scones on In Good Taste. They got me thinking about buttery, rich, soft but dense scones … and I just had to have them. Not that I regret it. I love these scones … and they are perfect for Saturday mornings, even if it’s a busy one.

Raspberry White Chocolate Scones
yields 8 scones
recipe adapted from Joy of Cooking: 75th Anniversary Edition

1 3/4 cup all purpose flour
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp Kosher salt
1/4 cup cold unsalted butter (1/2 stick)
2 large eggs
1/3 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup white chocolate chips
1/2 cup frozen raspberries

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt in a large bowl. Cut in the butter using two knives. Stir in the chocolate chips and raspberries. Set aside.

In another bowl, whisk the eggs. Add the heavy cream and whisk some more until fully combined.

Make a well in the center of the dry mix and pour the egg mixture in. Use a rubber spatula to gently stir until just combined. It will be dry and crumbly and won’t hold together well.

Turn out the dough onto a floured cutting board. Using well-floured hands, pat the dough into an 8 inch circle, about 3/4 inch thick. Use a pizza cutter to slice into eight wedges.

If desired, brush the tops of the scones with 1 tbsp of heavy cream and sprinkle with course sugar.

Transfer the wedges to the prepared baking sheet and cook for about 15 minutes, until lightly browned.

Serve immediately. These are best eaten within two days. Store leftovers in an airtight container.

What I’m Cooking With: a large and a medium-sized metal mixing bowl, a silicone spatula from Williams-Sonoma for stirring, Circulon 11-by-17-Inch Metal Cookie Pan, a KitchenAid® Utility Whisk, a pizza cutter and parchment paper.

Psst! One more thing. Check out my latest posts at Tablespoon: How to Eat Pomegranate and Homemade Soups for Chilly Winter Days

Here’s a few ideas:

Boxes/Tins

Use for brownies and cookies. Wrap them in parchment or place in a sealed bag before putting into the box or tin. This is best if you are giving one type of treat. (Shown: Ikea, $2.99 for a set of three)

Treat Bags

Use for cookies, chocolate covered pretzels, scones or even small loaves of bread. Some candies could also be contained in treat bags. Tie with a pretty ribbon or seal with a nice metallic sticker. These are best for holiday party favors or for packaging inside a larger basket or bag. (Shown: Michael’s, price varies)

Buckets/Baskets

Use for small cookies, chocolate covered pretzels or candies that are sealed in treat bags. Tie a ribbon around the top of the bucket. Use larger baskets for a mix of treats such as several types of cookies and confections. Buckets are best for gifting one type of treat in a smaller portion.  (Shown: Target, $1)

Ribbons

Use to dress up treat bags, baskets, buckets and cookie jars. Thin ribbons are best for treat bags, while medium to wider ribbons can be a nice touch for buckets and baskets. (Shown: Michael’s and Target, prices vary)

How do you package your holiday treats?

Look at those colors. I loved the way this looked when I was measuring out ingredients, so I had to snap a picture. It was these same colors that seduced me into buying too many peppers at the farmer’s market a few weeks ago. Fresh. Tasty. Just picked.

At first, I thought I would just cut up all the peppers and use them for stir-fries and salads and maybe just snacking . . . But then I got an idea. And when I get an idea like that, I have to do it. What was it? Relish. A fresh relish for burgers.

Of course, I have never made relish before. So I consulted Preserving Summer’s Bounty for method guidance. When I bought that book, I wasn’t so enthused. At the time, I was simply looking for jams, jellies and preserves to make and can. But these days, my aspirations have expanded. And with the rising costs of food, home heating, and more, canning as much as possible this summer is simply a must.

Think I’ve lost it? Believe it or not, making relish is really easy. Just chop, mix and cook. If you use a food processor for the chopping, it’s even easier. In fact, I made a second batch of this while holding Paige. Anything that you can make one-armed is definitely easy.

Spicy Three Pepper Relish
yields 1 pint/2 half-pints

1 green pepper, finely diced
1 red pepper, finely diced
2 banana peppers, finely diced
(peppers should total 2 cups)
1 large onion, finely diced
4-6 scallions, finely diced
(onion and scallion should total 2 cups)
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups vinegar (I used Cider with a dash of herb)

Combine all ingredients in a large pot. Bring to a boil and cook for 45 minutes, stirring a few times.

To Can: Pack into hot 1/2 pint jars with 1/4 inch headspace. Cover and tighten as much as you can. Place in a hot water bath — as in a pot of boiling water — for 5 minutes. Be sure to handle hot containers with care. I use rubber tipped tongs.

Let cool before packing away in your cupboard.

Snow and ice prevented us from decorating for Christmas beyond the living room, but that didn’t change the merriment of the season. Will enjoyed all of his presents, pausing to play with each one before opening another. Paige slept through most of the festivities. Fortunately, Santa had the brilliant idea to bring a set of pacifiers in her stocking — the only ones that Will would use when he was a baby. Did I mention that Santa is brilliant?

With Christmas over, one would think that means all the holiday stuff is done with — but it’s not. There are still presents to wrap and ship (ugh), some more cookies to bake, and more well wishes to pass along. Fortunately, the lead up to these things is a little more relaxed than the lead up to the big day was . . . thank goodness.

The past few weeks have been busy, to say the least. There were parties to attend, presents to wrap, tricycles to build . . . and I was awake until 2 a.m. at least one night this week, finishing up the holiday gift baskets for my husband’s coworkers and several friends and family members. I baked several varieties of biscotti, dark chocolate cranberry cookies, vanilla bean cookies and these divine creations — Deconstructed Chocolate Peppermint Bark Cookies.

I was digging through recipes, looking for a recipe for a great cookie to include in the baskets when I found my recipe for triple chocolate chunk cookies. Somehow that translated into coming up with the idea to mix peppermint bark ingredients into the dough instead of just plain ol’ chocolate.

These could be the best baked good ever to be born in my kitchen. They are chocolately, pepperminty and just absolutely delicious. Everyone who has tasted them has oohed and aahed. In fact, my husband’s coworker said I was “a genius” for creating this cookie. To bad I am going on a massive diet in a few days . . .

Deconstructed Chocolate Peppermint Bark Cookies
yields about three dozen

1 cup butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups white sugar
2 eggs, at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp peppermint extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup cocoa powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup white chocolate chips
5 peppermint candy canes, crushed

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla and peppermint. Beat on medium until mixture has a light and fluffy appearance.

Sift together flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt. Pour into mixer bowl, a little at a time, mixing on low until just incorporated. Add white and semi-sweet chocolate chips and crushed candy canes and mix on medium until combined.

Drop by the spoonful onto the prepared baking sheet.

Cook in the preheated oven for 8-10 minutes, until set.

Let cool on the baking sheet for 2-3 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool.

I spent Tuesday morning doing something I despise. Ironing. A sheet. It seems that despite the expensive price of this sheet set, the manufacturer couldn’t quite make something that would come out of the dryer without deeply embedded wrinkle lines. Ugh. So, section by section, I ironed, starched and ironed again until it was all done … about an hour later. Who has time for this??

While ironing, a funny thought popped into my head: I originally wanted to name my blog something along the lines of Sarah, The Domestic Goddess. What a joke that would have been! I love to cook and all, but I am a major failure at chores. I hate cleaning (but do it), hate ironing (and rarely do), hate laundry (which my husband kindly does) and don’t like dishes (but do them anyway). My former and current coworkers can attest that I am not the best at keeping a clean desk either. But, I always know where everything is and I made a solid effort (and it’s pretty successful) to keep a clean house too. Still, I hate it.

I’ve always said that someday I would have a cleaning woman to help handle all the chores. But when it came down to it recently, I realized I don’t really want one — at least not right now. Why not? Because in order to have someone come clean, I would have to dedicate more time to clearing clutter so that they could clean. And at this point in my life, I don’t have time to add that to the agenda. Maybe later. So, perhaps someday I will get to that point. Hopefully.

In the meantime, I am up to here (picture hand at nose level) in baking and cooking for Christmas gift baskets. My husband needs three for his coworkers and I need at least three, though I have been cautiously ignoring an actual count — the plan is to get the first four done (three for him, one for me) and then evaluate how many more need to be made.

The first order of business? Biscotti. For those who aren’t sure, biscotti is a traditional Italian cookie that is baked twice — once as one big piece and a second time as individual slices to dry them out. It is fantastic served with coffee. Apparently, biscotti means “twice baked” or something close to it in Italian. And it’s plural. A single piece of biscotti is a biscotto. Interesting stuff.

Anyway, my inaugural batch of biscotti was crafted last December when making gift baskets. I don’t know what possessed me to try it, but it turned out to be a super easy and impressive looking basket filler. It does take some time, at least cooking time, but it’s totally worth it.

First up for this year’s baskets: Chocolate Chip Biscotti, which I think will really appeal to Shawn’s coworkers. He already gave it his seal of approval (stealing several pieces . . . “But they were the ends!” he insisted).

Chocolate Chip Biscotti
yields 24 cookies

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (I prefer unbleached)
3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/3 cup sugar
3/4 baking powder
1 tbsp water
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg
1 egg white

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spray lightly with cooking spray.

In a large bowl, sift together flour, sugar and baking powder. Stir in chocolate chips. In a separate bowl, whisk together water, vanilla extract, egg and egg white. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.

Stir together until all the dry ingredients are moistened. The dough will be crumbly.

Carefully turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead until a solid dough forms. Form the dough into a 16 inch log.

Place the log onto the baking sheet and flatten out to about one inch thick. Place into the preheated oven and cook for 25 minutes.

Transfer the biscotti loaf to a wire rack and let cool for 10 minutes. Slice on the diagonal into 1/2 inch pieces. Transfer back to the baking sheet, cut sides down. Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees and cook for 10 minutes on each side.

Place biscotti on the wire rack and let cool – they will harden as they cool.

Anyway, one of the magazines I read was Woman’s Day. It’s not something I normally pick up, but I am glad that I did this time. I actually came out with a great recipe that worked fantastically and would make a nice holiday gift for someone.

And, strangely, I had all the ingredients on hand. I had picked up self-rising flour awhile back and it’s been collecting dust on a shelf ever since. For the beer, I used a lime twisted one that my husband had leftover from summer — I cannot remember the name though. It worked well. I would love to try this with a Harp or Guinness though.

If you want to gift this, let it cool completely before wrapping it up. A cellophane bag and bow could do the trick . . .

No Knead Cheddar Beer Bread
yields 1 loaf

2 2/3 cup self-rising flour
1 cup grated cheddar
12 oz beer, chilled

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Grease a loaf pan and set aside.

Combine flour and cheddar in a large bowl and mix well with a rubber spatula (to prevent sticking). Add beer and stir until the flour mixture is completely moistened. Pour into the loaf pan and spread out as best you can.

Cook in the preheated oven for 50-55 minutes until a tester inserted in the middle pulls out clean. The top should be golden brown.

Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 5-10 minutes. Then remove from pan.

How to serve? My favorite way is warm with a nice slash of butter. Mmmm.

In a week or so, I will begin the rush to bake for the treat baskets – and cook too. But I would be lying if I didn’t admit that I am exhausted and cooking takes a lot of the little energy I have left. Sad, but undeniably true.

So, I have been pulling together my recipes for this year’s collection with the idea of easy but delicious in mind. Something that immediately came to mind was peppermint bark. Peppermint bark is one of those super easy treats that consistently draws wows. For whatever reason, people assume it must be hard to make. In reality, it’s anything but difficult. It’s also ultra-flexible, which is a giant plus.

Here’s a step by step guide to making your own super-easy peppermint bark this year. And believe me, it’s totally worth the time. Just be sure to use quality ingredients – particularly the chocolate.

One little note, my method involves no tempering, so if you are worried, make it on the same day it is consumed (or given away), because there is a chance it could turn gray after a day — though I haven’t had that happen. Just warnin’ ya.

Step one: Gather Your Ingredients and Utensils.

You will need 6-8 oz of dark chocolate (here I used a mixture of good single origin bittersweet chocolate and some dark chocolate in a 1:1 ratio — about 6 oz total). You will also need peppermint extract, a double boiler, a baking sheet and parchment paper. Oh, and two peppermint candy canes, crushed.

Step two: Melt the Chocolate

Break the chocolate into chunks and place it in the top of a double broiler (bottom should be filled with water and heated over medium). Stir frequently until chocolate is fully melted. Then add 1/4-1/2 tsp peppermint extract and mix well.

Step three: Spread the Chocolate

Once the chocolate is fully melted, spread it evenly onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. You want it to be about 1/4 inch thick.

Step four: Make It Pretty

Now, evenly distribute the crushed candy cane all over the just-spread chocolate. Set the pan aside to cool for at least two hours. Then break into pieces.

Ta-da! Now, wasn’t that easy? Not so bad, eh?

Mmm, chocolate dipped pretzels. These could quite possibly be the easiest things I have ever, ever made. Seriously. And of all the treats I made to give away this season, they got the biggest wow. Go figure.

How did I do it? It all started with a bag of pretzel rods (be sure your bag has as many unbroken ones as possible – I ran into some treacherously broken bags). I melted 8 oz. of chocolate chips per 12 rods in a makeshift double broiler (pot of hot water with a melt mixing bowl over top – the chocolate chips go in the mixing bowl. Stir frequently until just melted smooth). Then I used a spoon to coat about half of each pretzel with chocolate. To smooth it out, I held the rod by the chocolate-free end and gently shook the chocolate down and off. Then, over a plate, I sprinkled nonpareils and other little decorations onto the chocolate. After they cooled and the chocolate hardened, I transferred them to decorative bags.

Sooooooooo easy. I’m tellin’ ya!