So I intended to post this recipe before Christmas, since it’s kind of Christmas themed, but time ran away from me- as usual. But who says you can’t eat peppermint in January? (Especially since I have another peppermint themed recipe coming up for you!)
I only ever tried peppermint bark for the first time about a month ago. It was at our store’s season launch meeting; I was working away and didn’t get any of the treats until afterwards when I saw it in the break room. I’d never had bark before, but it was chocolate and candy canes. How bad could it be?
It was SO GOOD! Two thin layers of chocolate were topped with crushed candy canes, with a subtle peppermint flavour woven throughout. My only problem? The price tag!
After I quickly devoured two chunks of it, I went looking in the store for it so I could go home and devour some more. Two pieces of it were $6.00 and a small tin was $12.00. Don’t even ask how high it went up to…
I loved it, but I didn’t get why it was so expensive. So I went about making my own for a fraction of the cost and with things I already had at home!
The result? SO FREAKING GOOD. And it was so easy! All you do is melt semi-sweet chocolate, let it set; melt white chocolate, sprinkle with crushed candy canes and then refrigerate. The end result was so yummy and identical to the store bought taste, minus all the preservatives.
Check out the full recipe!
Ingredients
- 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 2 cups white chocolate chips
- 1/8 tsp peppermint/mint extract
- 1/4 cup candy canes, crushed
Instructions
- Line a 9x9 square pan with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, microwave the semi-sweet chocolate in 30 second increments, stirring after each time. Pour into the cake pan, using the back side of a spoon to smooth out the layer. Refrigerate for 15 minutes.
- In another bowl, microwave the white chocolate in 30 second increments. Add peppermint extract and mix well. Pour over the cooled semi-sweet chocolate and sprinkle with crushed candy canes. Refrigerate for 30 minutes before cutting and enjoying. Store in an airtight container in the fridge.
Recipe ©Ikhlas Hussain
How easy is this recipe?! I love the fact that I didn’t even have to turn on the oven to get a sweet snack made it under 1 hour! There’s very little prep to be done for this; other than crushing the candy canes, everything is done as you make the recipe, leaving you with very little mess and very little clean up!
The only tricky part is cutting these guys after they’ve cooled. I would recommend letting it it sit outside for a few minutes before cutting it. And don’t try to make the chunks even; mine were all uneven and I think they looked nice with their imperfections.
I highly recommend storing them in the fridge, and not outside, where they’ll melt. The chunks are a bit hard to eat right out of the fridge, so take out a serving and let it sit outside for a few minutes (it won’t melt in that time) before eating. Your teeth will thank you!
I used semi-sweet chocolate for the base, but I’m interested to see what it would taste like if I use dark chocolate next time. The white chocolate and crushed candy canes already add a lot of sweetness, so dark chocolate would be a good switch.
Super simple and done very quickly, this Classic Peppermint Bark is sure to be a lovely treat for the end of the holidays, whether you’re serving it to guests or enjoying it by yourself on the couch while you watch Sherlock Season 3. 🙂
Let me know if you try this out and how it goes!
Thanks for reading,
Ikhlas
