Happy Hannukah and candy cane crunch mini cupcakes at Baked by Melissa in December, plus the history of candy canes

I tried the new candy cane crunch mini cupcakes at Baked by Melissa on Monday and was delighted. It's their December flavor and is very festive and seasonal, one that candy cane fans should check out. I like candy canes but when I bite into them they get stuck in my teeth, so this way of doing it avoids that and gives you some white chocolate to enjoy along with your cupcake. Baked by Melissa now has so many Manhattan locations I can't keep track of all of them, and they also do mail order cupcakes, so check them out and get all the details at bakedbymelissa.com and on their Facebook page, where this Happy Hannukah cupcake message came from.







The card above saying that candy canes were invented to keep children quiet piqued my curiosity. About.com dates the candy cane shape back to 1670 and goes on to say:

The first historical reference to the candy cane being in America goes back to 1847, when a German immigrant called August Imgard decorated the Christmas tree in his Wooster, Ohio home with candy canes.

The Stripes

About fifty years later the first red-and-white striped candy canes appeared. No one knows who exactly invented the stripes, but Christmas cards prior to the year 1900 showed only all-white candy canes. Christmas cards after 1900 showed illustrations of striped candy canes. Around the same time, candy-makers added peppermint and wintergreen flavors to their candy canes and those flavors then became the traditional favorites.