Chocolate Peppermint Bark

Peppermint bark makes a great holiday recipe. Dark or semi-sweet chocolate, white chocolate, and crushed peppermint candies. What could be easier, or tastier?

It's also a perfect homemade holiday gift, and much cheaper when you make it yourself.

Step 1: Gather tools and ingredients

You'll need:

peppermint¹ candy (Candy canes, sticks, whatever you can find that's cheap and tasty.)

1 pound chocolate (dark, semi-sweet, or milk)
1/2 pound white chocolate

waxed paper
glass bowl
heat-proof spatula
food processor, blender, mortar and pestle, or bag and heavy whacking object
2 glass or metal pans, 9"x11" or larger

¹Note that it doesn't have to be peppermint- this recipe works equally well with any hard candy, so peppermint haters should feel free to substitute spearmint, cinnamon, or fruit candies as taste and availability dictate.

Comments

[Screamo]

mmm looks good make me some :D

[mychiquita]

love the screammo

[sdhardie]

Can anything be substituted for the white chocolate??  Otherwise, these look delicious. ;)

[bgoldberg1]

Almond bark ... it's less natural than white chocolate, but it's whiter in color.

[canida]

You can substitute any type of chocolate.  I use white chocolate because it's the classic choice for chocolate peppermint bark, and it's a good neutral match in color and flavor vs. the stronger peppermint.

[Reece 24]

Yummy yummy nom noms!

[mittensbaby3]

would i be able to eat this with braces i have had some before but i had a verysmall peice and want to know if i can eat it with braces (seeing hows i got them on 2 days ago!)

[bajablue]

This reply is tardy... but I wore braces when I was a teenager and the one tool I couldn't live without was a water pik. I loved how it cleaned every nook and cranny a toothbrush couldn't.

Hope this helps!

[korgoth25]

yo should be able to. i dont personaly know becu=ause i ate everything when i had braces. but with this choc easily melts and the only thing would be getting a bit of candy cane stuck in the brace but this to melts after a bit in ur mouth. so id say go 4 it!

[Shany120]

looks really good!! Yummy!! :D

[werikblack]

This stuff is awesome and easy! This will be my third year using this recipe, and all my friends start requesting it in November. :)

[paulanorma]

Mmmmm, looks amazing and delicious!

[SGAC]

Following your recipe and making this stuff now. It's so freaking easy! My only dilemma is that I have way too many peppermint pieces/dust left over. I guess I'm making peppermint sugar cookies as well!!

[canida]

I had the same problem - extra peppermint keeps well, though, so I used it the next year. ;)

Post your recipe for peppermint cookies!  I haven't found a good sugar cookie recipe yet.

[spartan sojourner]

Stirring extra peppermint shavings into a nice hot chocolate makes a delectable mint hot chocolate!

[TheGeek1984]

Mmmmm! My favorite kind.

[hmhill17]

Any hints for making this? My first two attempts didn't turn out too well. I assume that I shouldn't have used chocolate chips.

[J3white]

I used Ghirradelli semi sweet chocolate chips, and it turned out beautifully.  But I add approximately 1 TBLSP of butter to the chips before they go into the microwave.

[schultzie61]

first, you need to use good quality chocolate.  most importantly though i'd suggest you use a double boiler rather than microwave.  keep the water in the double boiler barely simmering as the chocolate shouldn't get too hot.  also, microwaves generate moisture which is death for chocolate.

[canida]

Most chocolate chips (especially the cheaper ones) have some stabilizers in them that prevent them from melting evenly. It's best to use chunks of baking chocolate to get a proper texture. Did you have a specific problem?

[hmhill17]

Seemed to take forever to cool and it was hard to spread the layers. The white chocolate was very thick melted.

[canida]

Here's a trick I learned recently:  if you add a tablespoon of butter, that helps chocolate chips melt properly.  I'm not sure it would fix all the problems you describe, but would certainly make it thinner and more spreadable.

[J3white]

I just made this today, and it's awesome!  It's supposed to be for Christmas gifts, but I keep nibbling on it, it's so good!

[fred_dot_u]

Would adding shredded coconut to the mix disqualify it as bark?

[Tooi]

Oh my goodness, that sounds amazing! O_O  Who cares as long as it tastes good?

[schultzie61]

Thanks for the easy and yummy recipe.  I did one with dark and on with milk, and used very high quality chocolate.  Makes a big difference in flavor!

[theHERO]

 Just finished and it's great(: Thanks!

[www.FREEplantsFORyou.blogspot.com]

once your choclate is done and pretty...put the pan in the freezer to freeze, then remove after 15 minutes and turn over on to wax paper....it willfall right out of the pan.  As the chocolate thaws, it willliterally let fo of the pan.

[Sporkiness]

 So did the amount of chocolate you put in the recipe make enough for 2 9X11 pans? Because I've only got one 9x9 (I think...I need to scrounge around in the kitchen), so I was wondering if I should use a little less than half of what you recommended.

Thanks so much for the recipe. I'm making it this evening--I'll let you know how it goes!

[NatureBoom21]

(DROOLING) Gotta make this soon or i might end up eating the computer screen!!!!

[bassclarinet23]

I know how you feel!

[canida]

So did you try it?  How did it turn out?

[bassclarinet23]

My kitchen is a construction zone, so I'm going to wait in order to prevent unwanted sawdust flavoring. I'm planning to make it for Christmas Eve dinner.

[Jayefuu]

This appears to be featured on the front page twice! One time after the other. Woops!

[Brennn10]

Canida, these look like they are straight out of Williams & Sonoma; only better! My family loves these treats. Which type of chocolate do you prefer?

[canida]

I'm a big fan of white and milk chocolates.  Not much of a chocolate snob here. ;)

[DOLLIEBIZZARE]

I bet crushing them must have been really loud!

[canida]

Yes - wear ear protection!

[mdhillison]

We used little oreo cookie bits in the dark chocolate - not oreo cookie pieces but the stuff you would use to make a oreo crust, so no filling and just ground up cookie parts. It is fantastic. Thanks for doing this. My kid loved using it with me.

[canida]

What a great idea!  A little extra crunch in the bottom layer sounds great.  Maybe rice krispies, or the chocolate version, would be good too?