This is one of our favorite Christmas season treats. It’s easy to make, and so fun to make with kids. And if you make it yourself, it’s much cheaper than that fancy kitchen store!
It makes a great gift also. Try it out yourself!
Peppermint Bark
This rich and minty combination of white and dark chocolate with peppermint makes a festive treat at holiday parties and is a wonderful gift for the person who has everything.
Servings: 24
Calories: 190kcal
Cost: $9
Equipment
- Offset Spatula
- Parchment Paper
- Microwave
- 2 small microwave-safe mixing bowls
- 2 spoons for stirring
- Kitchen mallet
- Ziptop bag
Ingredients
- 3 ounces peppermint hard candy crushed (About 6 or 7 candy canes)
- 14 ounces dark chocolate chips or broken into pieces. I prefer 60% cacao or higher.
- 12 ounces white chocolate broken into pieces. Look for a product that actually says "chocolate" on the package or lists cocoa butter in the ingredients.
- 12-20 drops Peppermint oil to taste. (Roughly ten drops in each kind of chocolate.)
Instructions
- Using a kitchen mallet, crush peppermint candy in a ziptop bag. Set aside.
- Lay out parchment paper on a flat surface or a cookie sheet.
- Use the microwave to melt dark chocolate in 30-second increments at Cook Power 6 and stir well in between. Avoid hot spots that can burn your chocolate. Also, avoid getting any water or other moisture in the chocolate. This should take 3-4 increments of 30 seconds each.
- Add about 10 drops of peppermint oil, to taste. See note. Stir well.
- With an offset spatula, spread dark chocolate on parchment paper to about 1/8 inch thickness. Try not to spread it too thin on the edges. Your sheet of chocolate will be about the size of a standard sheet of paper. Reserve about a 1/4 cup of dark chocolate to drizzle on top of the white chocolate.
- Use the microwave to melt white chocolate in 30-second increments at Cook Power 6 and stir well in between. Avoid hot spots that can burn your chocolate. Also, avoid getting any water or other moisture in the chocolate. This should take 3-4 increments of 30 seconds each.
- Add about 10 drops of peppermint oil, to taste. See note. Stir well.
- Wait until dark chocolate layer has lost its gloss and developed a matte look and hardened slightly. This will take longer if your kitchen is hot or if your counter is warm, such as above a running dishwasher or next to a hot oven. If this is the case, move cooling chocolate to a cooler place, if possible. Or do something else while you wait.
- Carefully spread white chocolate onto dark chocolate layer. Avoid pulling dark chocolate up into white chocolate layer by having a gentle touch. If marbling does occur, it's ok! You won't even notice once you have the dark chocolate drizzle and crushed peppermint candy on top.
- Check reserved dark chocolate to make sure it's still melted. If not, melt in microwave as before for 30 seconds at cook power 6. Stir well.
- Drizzle dark chocolate over white chocolate layer. See video for demonstration.
- Sprinkle crushed peppermint candy over all. Allow to harden completely before breaking into pieces. Store in an airtight container. Enjoy!
Notes
Note on Peppermint Oil: Use the full amount if you like to really taste that cool pop of mint. If you don’t have peppermint oil, use 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of peppermint extract. You’ll need to sample the melted chocolate, because different peppermint extracts vary in their intensity.
Nutrition
Calories: 190kcal | Carbohydrates: 19g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Cholesterol: 3mg | Sodium: 16mg | Potassium: 159mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 15g | Vitamin A: 11IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 40mg | Iron: 2mg