Yummy Homemade Peppermint Patties

I live in the lovely town of Velburg in Bavaria, Germany. This town is small, but they know how to throw a party. 

The Christmas Market was this past weekend, and it was our second time going. We love it. It's small, intimate, and has a good variety for such a tiny town. 

We were there at just the right moment to see Sainkt Nikolaus arriving on his motorbike.

 He then gave a speech in German, which was lovely even though I couldn't understand it. 

Then, he gave all the children treats. 

And finally, he departed the town on the same motorbike. 

We went to (another) Christmas market on Sunday. This one was at Schloss Guteneck near the Naab River. It was wonderful, as they all are, but we all agreed that this was the best one we'd been to in the two Christmases in Germany. We've got one more left for the season: Nurnberg. We're going there next week.

Here are a few photos from our latest Christmas Market adventure:

Food really is the best part of German Christmas markets. 

Now, it's Monday, so before I show you our craft du jour, I need to share my menu plan with you. 

I felt like "large roasted meat with veg" for our menu until Christmas. There is comfort in the scent of a meal roasting in the oven, isn't there? And this cold, dreary weather we've been having just begs me to cook large things. 

Plus, it's economical to roast meat and have it for a few meals. 

Here's the plan:

Breakfast items

scrambled eggs
hard-boiled eggs
bacon
sausage
Paleo Pancakes
Gluten-Free cinnamon rolls
Fruit Smoothies
oatmeal with toppings for the kids

Lunch items

leftovers
deli meats and cheeses (we bought five pounds of fresh smoked sausages and 100g of a 14 month aged cheese at the Schloss Guteneck market)
fresh fruits and veg
nuts
dried fruits
hard-boiled eggs

Dinners

Monday lasagna

Tuesday Whole Roast Duck with Balsamic Vinengar and Honey Glaze, Brussels Sprouts, and Carrots

Wednesday Duck & Veggie Stir Fry and making stock from the bones

Thursday company Christmas party

Friday roast beef, cauliflower mash, roasted carrots and onions

Saturday beef stew and paleo cornbread

Sunday  roast chicken, mashed root veg, broccoli

Baking projects: peppermint patties (below), fudge, Christmas cookies


Now let's talk Christmas crafting. Up today: something edible: 

Peppermint Patties (link)

total time spent: 90 minutes including chill time
total cost to me: just under $10 for one batch
craftiness level: beginner-intermediate

You will need:

• powdered sugar 
• mint extract
• butter
• cream
• either melting chocolate or chocolate chips and shortening (I used refined coconut oil)

See the link above for specific directions. 

A few tips:

• I ended up using at least 3 1/2 cups of powdered sugar. I didn't measure after the initial measurement of 2 1/4 cups, but it took a lot of extra tablespoons to make play-dough consistency with my filling. 
• I couldn't get my filling to roll into a perfect round. Admittedly, I didn't try for long. Also, I didn't much care enough to go for perfection. 
• I used chocolate chips and refined coconut oil (to eliminate the coconut taste) instead of melting chocolate. 
• The paper towel tube is pointless once you start cutting. The cutting action flattens out the bottom of the rounds anyway. You can hand-shape them after you cut.