MATT LAUER, co-host:
We are back now at 8:45. This morning on
TODAY'S HOLIDAY KITCHEN
, cool
peppermint
desserts.
Candy canes
are everywhere during the holidays. Why not put them to use for a creative, festive dessert?
Sandra Lee
is here with great recipes. Her new magazine,
Sandra Lee Christmas
, and her latest
cookbook is called "Semi-Homemade:
The Complete Cookbook." It's great to have you here.
Happy holidays
.
Ms. SANDRA LEE:
It's nice to see you.
LAUER:
Peppermint
screams holidays. This is good. You do a lot of cooking over the holidays?
Ms. LEE:
I do a lot of cooking over the holidays.
LAUER:
Entertaining?
Ms. LEE:
Not so much this year. We have a big
New Year
's coming up. So it won't be.
LAUER:
You...
Ms. LEE:
But usually, yes.
LAUER:
All right, cool. So what are we starting with?
Ms. LEE:
Well, I always like to do something, whether I'm entertaining or it's just for the kids at home, that's kind of a fantasy dessert. So what we have are
peppermint
bonbon pops.
LAUER:
This is what they're going to look like when we're finished with them.
Ms. LEE:
Yes.
LAUER:
Let's figure out how we get there. You've got the first three ingredients already in this pan.
Ms. LEE:
In this pot is going to be a bag of
white chocolate
chips, so it's semi-homemade. What do you have in your pantry...
LAUER:
Right.
Ms. LEE:
...that you can use in a smart way? A third of a cup of butter, a quarter of a cup of heavy whipping cream. Don't whip it. Just
put it in
there.
LAUER:
OK.
Ms. LEE:
Melt the
chocolate chips
...
LAUER:
Get the paddles ready. Clear.
Ms. LEE:
...on low. It's candy. It's Christmas.
LAUER:
OK.
Ms. LEE:
We'll fast in January. Melt them on low for about five minutes. Low heat...
LAUER:
OK.
Ms. LEE:
A nice, soft, slow melt.
LAUER:
That's the consistency you're looking for?
Ms. LEE:
This is...
LAUER:
A nice kind of creamy consistency?
Ms. LEE:
Yeah, that's very shiny. Now is the fun part. You are going to put in a cup of powdered sugar.
LAUER:
All of it at once?
Ms. LEE:
All of it at once.
LAUER:
OK.
Ms. LEE:
And then that whisk.
LAUER:
OK.
Ms. LEE:
You are going to go to town.
LAUER:
OK.
Ms. LEE:
You need to mix that all together.
LAUER:
OK.
Ms. LEE:
One teaspoon of
peppermint extract
goes in there.
LAUER:
So you don't want to overpower people with the
peppermint
taste? You just want a nice hint of the flavor?
Ms. LEE:
Exactly.
LAUER:
OK.
Ms. LEE:
You got to get in there and work it.
LAUER:
OK. Good.
Ms. LEE:
I know you're in a nice suit...
LAUER:
All right.
Ms. LEE:
...but you got to get in there.
LAUER:
That's all
right. So let's say I did that already, and it would end up looking like this, OK?
Ms. LEE:
Well...
LAUER:
You've added little chips here, is that what it is?
Ms. LEE:
You want to put your
chocolate chips
after that's all mixed.
LAUER:
Peppermint
chips.
Ms. LEE:
Peppermint
chips.
LAUER:
OK. Right. This is -- this becomes kind of like mud here.
Ms. LEE:
Oh, it becomes a -- it's a candy.
LAUER:
Yeah, OK.
Ms. LEE:
They're candy pops. OK. This -- once you're done, you
put it in
a bowl in the fridge for two hours. Then what you're going to do is take your pops and a melon baller just like this. You're going to roll them in your hand.
LAUER:
Easy to work with once...
Ms. LEE:
You're going to put a stick on it.
LAUER:
...they've been chilled.
Ms. LEE:
Yes.
LAUER:
OK.
Ms. LEE:
And then you're going to set those aside. Into your oven goes
peppermint
, just
peppermint
candies.
LAUER:
I had no idea those things would melt like this.
Ms. LEE:
Three-fifty for three minutes. That's all.
LAUER:
OK.
Ms. LEE:
And all you do is put this on top of here, put that on your plate, and you're ready to go.
LAUER:
Those are great. OK. They look good.
Ms. LEE:
Now...
LAUER:
Now we're going to make a
peppermint
pie. This one's got a bunch of different layers.
Ms. LEE:
Yes.
LAUER:
And you like the pudding flavor, the cheesecake flavor, everything in this.
Ms. LEE:
Everything that your family loves will be in here. So I've got two different kinds of pudding. You make it the regular way. You -- I've got
white chocolate
pudding and I've got cheesecake pudding.
LAUER:
OK.
Ms. LEE:
OK, the flavor. Your crust...
LAUER:
Semi-homemade, you can buy a crust.
Ms. LEE:
You can buy a crust...
LAUER:
Come on.
Ms. LEE:
...but if you want to make it the money-saving meals way...
LAUER:
OK.
Ms. LEE:
...because I have two shows on the
Food Network
.
LAUER:
Who can keep up.
Ms. LEE:
Yeah. It's just some graham crackers, sugar and melted butter.
LAUER:
OK.
Ms. LEE:
Pat down your sides. Now you're going to put in layers of the
white chocolate
pudding and the, of course, cheesecake pudding. On top of here goes
whipped topping
, another teaspoon of your extract goes in here to pump up the flavor. You want to stir that?
LAUER:
OK.
Ms. LEE:
Put it on there.
LAUER:
So how many layers? Just two layers?
Ms. LEE:
Just two layers.
LAUER:
OK.
Ms. LEE:
One on top of another, that's what you have here. Put that together.
LAUER:
Do you have to chill that first?
Ms. LEE:
You -- well, you don't have to chill it. It -- you want to chill it after you put this on.
LAUER:
OK.
Ms. LEE:
OK. So go ahead and just place that on here. You want to grab the peppermints because that's going to be our topper.
LAUER:
OK.
Ms. LEE:
And then just
have a good time
creating...
LAUER:
Yeah.
Ms. LEE:
...billows of
whipped topping
.
LAUER:
You don't want to be neat, you actually want to make it look kind of exotic, right?
Ms. LEE:
Kind of festive and fun. There you go.
LAUER:
Use your fingers like that all the time?
Ms. LEE:
I love this stuff.
LAUER:
This is great. OK.
Ms. LEE:
Go ahead.
LAUER:
How many? Do I sprinkle these on? Is that it?
Ms. LEE:
Mm-hmm. Look how pretty, you just made pie.
LAUER:
That's fantastic. OK. Good. Good job.
Ms. LEE:
OK, one more.
LAUER:
All right.
Ms. LEE:
This is -- oh, actually two more. I've got a punch here, a mocktail punch.
LAUER:
Careful, I have a knife.
“ ”