Ryan and I are really lucky to live in a neighborhood with super friendly neighbors. I knew I wanted to make them a little treat for the holidays, but was feeling a little cookie-ed out. Peppermint bark is super simple to make, and most people really love it.
Before you start, get a big cookie sheet, spray it with cooking spray, and line it with parchment paper. I think it’s easiest if you use a rimmed baking sheet, just to keep things tidy. You want to spray the sheet before laying down the paper so it stays in place when you are spreading the chocolate.
Only 3 ingredients!
Get a bag of chocolate chips, a bag of white chocolate chips, and some candy canes. I got these candy canes at Whole Foods, so they are all natural and don’t have any artificial coloring. Which was a regret! Artificial coloring would have made this bark a lot prettier! So go for Red 40 and high fructose corn syrup for this recipe!
Put the chocolate chips into a microwave-safe bowl.
Microwave the chocolate until it’s melted. You want to do this in 30-second increments, and stir after each time. You could get all fancy and melt the chocolate using a double boiler, but if you are lazy like me, just use the microwave.
There we go. All melted.
Using a spatula, spread the chocolate as evenly as possible onto the cookie sheet. Then just pop it in the freezer for about 20 minutes.
While you are waiting, unwrap those candy canes.
Put them into a ziptop baggie, and crush into little pieces using whatever you have (a mallet, heavy glass, wooden spoon, etc.)
Put the white chocolate chunks into a microwave safe bowl and melt the same way you did the chocolate pieces. Note: if you are using the same bowl, after you wash it, make sure you dry it really carefully. Water can mess up chocolate. Remember??
Once the white chocolate is melted, mix about half of the crushed candy canes into it.
Working quickly (so it doesn’t melt!), spread the white chocolate and candy cane mixture onto the frozen chocolate.
Sprinkle the remaining crushed candy canes onto the top. Using the back of a big spoon or your clean hands, press the candy chunks into the white chocolate. Pop it back in the freezer for another 20 minutes.
Once it’s frozen, take it out and break it up into small pieces. The least messy way to do this is to turn over the entire frozen piece of chocolate, and break it up while it’s upside down. This way, little tiny pieces of candy cane don’t explode over your kitchen.
And there you go! It’s super easy and delicious!
It will keep at room temperature just fine, but if you are making it in advance, you might want to store it in the freezer until you are ready.
Enjoy!
