Candy Cane Martini

Ho Ho Ho! It's Thirsty Thursday! And the last one before Christmas! Last week, we got straight to the point with Candy Cane Jello Shots.  This week, we're sipping it slow (some may chug) with the Candy Cane Martini.


Sprinkling some Peppermint into your life is bound to make anyone's day that much brighter.  Peppermint freshens your breath, makes your tongue red, and tastes so smooth.  You can package all of these actions into one when drinking the Candy Cane Martini.


Here's what you need to know.


Ingredients

• 1 candy cane, crushed, for garnish
• 2 ounces strawberry vodka
• 4 dashes white creme de menthe
• 2 1/2 ounces cranberry juice
• Ice cubes
• 
  
• Instructions
• 
  
• Crush candy canes and place on a plate.  Wet the outside rim of a chilled martini glass with water.  Coat the rim with candy.  Combine vodka, creme de menthe, cranberry juice, and ice in shaker and shake, shake, shake! Pour into prepared glass and drink up!

'Twas the Thirsty Thursday before Christmas and Candy Cane Martinis were served all aglow, with Ugly Sweater partiers sipping their martinis and even merlot.  All the partiers were stirring their martinis with their candy canes, even the mouse!  Merry Christmas to all! Enjoy this festive drink!

Thanks to http://www.marthastewart.com/318807/candy-cane-cocktail?czone=entertaining/cocktail-hour/cocktail-recipes&backto=true&backtourl=/photogallery/winter-cocktails & http://disney-clipart.com/christmas/Minnie/Christmas-Minnie-Mouse-Candy-Canes.php for recipe/photos

Mystery Smarties

Calling all sleuths!  Do you love solving mysteries?  Do you love eating candy?  Well here's a mystery that needs to be solved asap!  It's circular, king size, colorful, tart, sweet, and even sour!  Give up?! Okay, we'll tell you, introducing Mystery Smarties!

Why they are so cool:

They are 6x the size of an original Smartie
19 come in a roll
Includes Original flavors, X-treme Sour (get ready to pucker up!), and Tropical Flavors all in one pack!
Perfect Stocking Stuffer
Sure to be a game night favorite!

Although these Smarties LOOK like they are the original flavor except jumbo sized, your tastebuds will be completly thrown off once the X-treme sour or Tropical flavor hits your tongue.  There's a whole slew of flavors in each roll, ranging from coconut, banana, grape, and other sour or citrus flavors.  Each flavor was extremely potent, but the whole mix was a great variety!  This candy is very refreshing, and keeps you on edge because you never know when you're in for a sour treat.  


Fun Candy Game Idea: Keep game night alive by playing Smarties connect four with your friends.  Whoever gets the most amount of similar flavors out of four wins! And don't forget to tell me who wins!

A huge thanks to the candy makers at Smarties for letting me on on this mysterious new product that will be sure to sell millions! Eating Mystery Smarties is like playing Guess Who with candy.  Pop it in your mouth and take a guess as to which flavor it is.  Who doesn't love solving a mystery while consuming sweets?  

Candy Cane Jello Shots

Happy Thirsty Thursday!  Cheers to Christmas being right around the corner!  This week, we're turning it up a notch and making Candy Cane Jello Shots.  Peppermint is the flavor of the season.  Time to fulfill that peppermint need deep down inside that appears annually from Nov 1st-Dec 25.  Let's do this!

Ingredients

2/3 cup water

1/3 cup sweetened condensed milk

2 envelopes plain gelatin

3/4 cup vanilla vodka

2 tbsp white chocolate liqueur (or white creme de cacao)

3 tbsp peppermint schnapps (or to taste - up to 4 tbsp may be added)

10 each small peppermint candies, or candy canes, crushed, for garnish

Instructions

Pour water into a small saucepan. 

Sprinkle with the gelatin and allow to soak for a few minutes. 

Heat over very low heat, stirring constantly, until gelatin is dissolved (about 5 minutes). 

Stir in sweetened condensed milk. Remove from heat.

Add the vodka, liqueur and schnapps, stirring well to incorporate. Pour into pan and refrigerate until fully set, several hours or overnight.

To serve, cut into 1 inch squares.

Immediately before serving, garnish with crushed peppermint candies.

The presentation is amazing and the idea is even smarter! Show up to your Ugly Sweater Party with these in hand, and you will be golden, like the star on top of the Christmas tree!  Candy Cane + Jello = Dangerous but Wonderful! Ho Ho Ho Happy Thirsty Thursday!

Thanks to http://www.tablespoon.com/recipes/candy-cane-martini-jelly-shots-recipe/2/ for the photo/recipe & http://4iphonewallpapers.com/christmas-candy-canes-iphone-4-wallpaper.html

Gingerbread Martini

'Tis the Season for Thirsty Thursday and for Christmas drinks!!  Today's holiday drink is the Gingerbread Martini.  It's the perfect, festive, cookie turn liquid martini.  It's time to cheers to decking the halls, trimming the trees, and eating sugary treats! Here's what you need to know:

Ingredients

• 1 oz. ginger beer
• Ice
• 1 tsp. ginger juice
• 1 1/2 oz. dark rum
• 1 tsp. cinnamon schnapps
• Pinch of ground cloves
• 1 egg white
• Cinnamon stick
• Crystallized ginger square
• Finely ground gingerbread cookie

Instructions

Pour enough ginger beer into a saucer to cover and dip a martini glass into the saucer to coat the rim. Dip into a saucer with ground cookie. Fill martini shaker with ice and add ginger juice, rum and cinnamon schnapps and shake, shake, shake! Add a pinch of ground cloves. Separate an egg and add egg white to shaker. Shake for 20 seconds until drink is frothy and foamy. Add ginger beer and stir slightly. Pour into glass.

Garnish with a cinnamon stick and crystallized ginger square, and sprinkle the top with finely ground gingerbread cookie.

It's not the quickest drink to make, but the presentation and festiveness makes it worth it.  It's sweet and ginger snappy, so if you like gingerbread and ginger snaps, this drink is for you! 

The holidays are here! Ho Ho Ho it's Thirsty Thursday!

Thanks to the Food Network for a great recipe/photo and http://www.livinthefitlife.com/tag/gingerbread-cookies/!