Well, I think I’ve finally caught up on my sleep from the New Year’s Eve party we held. We had quite a few families at our house, and stayed up until about 2 am. That may not seem late for a New Year’s Eve party, but I’m not exactly a night owl.

It was totally worth it, though. I made a few desserts, including some yummy peppermint bark lollipops. They’re super easy to make!

Ingredients:

• 1 bag semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 2 crushed candy canes
• Lollipop sticks (you can find them at most craft stores)

Instructions:

Melt the chocolate chips in a bowl in the microwave. My trick is to put all the chips in the bowl, and microwave the bowl for 30 seconds at a time, and stir after each microwaving. That ensures that you won’t burn the bottom chips while the top ones aren’t even melted yet.

Next, take spoonfuls of chocolate and swirl them onto a baking sheet lined with wax paper, so that little chocolate circles are formed.

Then, take a lollipop stick and put it on the bottom part of the circle. Spin the stick around so that the entire stick is covered in chocolate.

Sprinkle the lollipop with crushed candy cane. You can crush the candy cane by putting it in a plastic bag on a cutting board and hammering it with a meat tenderizer or a rolling pin. Repeat until the baking sheet(s) are filled with lollipops, and then put the baking sheets into the freezer until the lollipops are hard.

When the lollipops are done, gently take them off the baking sheet (they should come right off if they’re hard enough) and put them in any glass or platter you want. I used a clear drinking glass, and it looked really pretty!

We all had a great time at the party! We played ping pong, poker, board games, and watched the ball drop together. It was great having so many friends and family together. Now we just have to make it through the winter! Stay warm, everyone!