A Thoughtful Place

A Thoughtful Place is a Tennessee based lifestyle blog about design, fashion, gatherings and the occasional from the heart post.

Candy Cane Stir Sticks: 5 Helpful Tips

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This year we will be hosting Christmas and a hot cocoa bar is in the works. I have been snooping around Pinterest and the internet and found the darling idea of creating stir sticks. While not a new idea, it’s new to our family! You can check out inspiration here from Liv and here from Bridget. Such a fun idea and could not be any easier. There is no major recipe to follow, but I do recommend making these as they came out well and are super yummy. I will share a few tips I learned along the way throughout the post. And I may or may not have gotten carried away with snapping photos. Just sayin’! stir sticks a thoughtful place     ………………………. the supplies   0660_new   Not much is needed for these tasty stir sticks. I used one package of candy canes, one package of vanilla candy melts, chocolate chips, and one bag of marshmallows. Tip #1: Score the candy can with a knife where you want to break it. It snaps away with no trouble if you do that. I learned the hard way by thinking I could just break the candy cane where I wanted it. There were candy cane bits everywhere. Be sure to score it first. stir sticks a thoughtful place Tip #2: Consider using an ice pick to punch a hole in your marshmallow. I think it made it easier for me to insert each candy cane. Dip the end of the candy can in a bit of melted candy before you insert it into the marshmallow. This will cause it to stay put . . . and it looks cute. stir sticks a thoughtful place Tip #3: When you melt your chocolate or candy, do so in a small bowl that is deep enough to hold about an inch of melted candy. That will allow you to dunk and twist the marshmallow very easily. stir sticks a thoughtful place   Tip #4: If you plan on standing them up, be sure the candy cane does not poke all the way through your marshmallow. It will wobble. Also, don’t worry about adding candy bits to the bottom if the plan is for you to stand them on end. Again, they will wobble.     stir sticks a thoughtful place stir sticks a thoughtful place Tip #5: Use the candy cane hooks you broke off to crush up for the added bits. I like the way they look when the candy cane sprinkles are more of a dust than large chunks. Use your fingers to sprinkle them on the melted chocolate. I don’t recommend dipping them in the candy bits. Super disaster.   stir sticks a thoughtful place stir sticks a thoughtful place     stir sticks a thoughtful place I had leftover chocolate and didn’t want it to go to waste so I decided to dip marshmallows even without the peppermint sticks. They are SCRUMPTIOUS and will be yummy tossed in a mug of hot cocoa. stir sticks a thoughtful place   And is just me, or does this seem like a pretty fun way to serve up a cup of hot cocoa?!  Consider dessert handled if you are hosting a holiday get together. With these candied covered stir sticks and marshmallows, hot cocoa could be a serious hit. stir sticks a thoughtful place And these  did not go to waste! Our advent activity last night was to drive around looking at Christmas lights with hot cocoa in hand. We all tossed in a stir stick! I’m sort of hooked. I will be linking these up with Natasha today who is hosting a holiday recipe link party. I am in desperate need of actual recipes, so I can’t wait to gather inspiration. Enjoy your day!

Comments

  4. Those look delicious! You've mentioned your advent calendar activities twice now. I'd love to hear more about your advent calendar. I do one with my kids and I'm always looking for ideas. Your activities sound similar to mine.

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  10. Oh my goodness….these look so good! We'll be having Christmas Eve at our house and these will be sure to be a hit with all of us. We all love hot chocolate. Love your red and white polka dot plates Courtney and your photos are beautiful.

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