you're making mealtime meaningful.
We were in the mood recently for something a little chocolaty and a little minty: peppermint bark! It’s a great treat that is easy to portion, and if you have any events you are going to or parties you are hosting, it makes for a festive, decorative treat to lay out as a snack.
So what’s the easiest way to make this treat? We wanted to make it in as few steps and with as little cleanup as possible. It’s so easy to get melted chocolate everywhere, and trying to wash all those dishes can be a pain. One very simple way we found to avoid a big mess was to line our baking pan with parchment paper. And forget using a double-boiler to melt the chocolate, we instead opted to use the microwave to melt the chips. Keep reading below to see how we made this festive winter treat…
Homemade Peppermint Bark
Yield(s): Serves 2 dozen
10 minutes active; 1 hour inactive
you're making mealtime meaningful.
Ingredients
- 1 bag chocolate chips
- 1 bag white chocolate chips
- 24 mini candy canes
Preparation
- Put the candy canes in a resealable plastic bag. Use a rolling pin or tenderizing mallet to crush the candy canes. Don't use a blender or food processor, because you want those nice uneven bits that look great right on top.
- Line a 9"x13" pan with parchment paper, including the sides, leaving enough extra so you will be able to lift the peppermint bark out of the pan.
- Pour the chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl, and microwave for 30-second increments (stirring the chips between each microwave session) until the chocolate has melted, and the mixture is smooth.
- Spread the chocolate evenly into the lined pan, then place pan in the freezer for 20 minutes.
- Melt white chocolate in the microwave just as you did with the previous chocolate chips. If the white chocolate chips to not melt smooth, stir in 2 tablespoons of shortening.
- While the white chocolate is still smooth, stir in half the crushed candy canes into the mixture.
- Allow white chocolate to cool for 1 minute, then remove pan from the freezer and spread white chocolate mixture on top of the chocolate layer, making it as smooth as possible.
- Top with remaining crushed candy canes, and press them into the white chocolate with the back of a spatula.
- Return pan to the freezer for another 20 minutes.
- To serve, remove the parchment paper from the pan and break into pieces (or cut with a butter knife). Enjoy
Recipe adapted fromSavory Sweet Life.
