Saturday, December 19, 2009

Peppermint Bark

We were walking through Costco the other day, when Chris stopped at a table laiden with holiday treats. My husband is the exact reason stores set up these tables. He picked up a half pound tub of peppermint bark priced around $8.00. He gave me the sad puppy eyes, and I said, "No way! I can make that for cheaper." Chris said, "But can you do it with both kinds of chocolate?" Oh, you bet I can!


This turned out way easier than I even thought, and in less than an hour, we had peppermint bark! I made two and a half pounds for less than $7.00. My husband is well pleased.

Ingredients:
roughly 1 pound milk chocolate
roughly 1 pound white chocolate
1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract
12 candy canes
butter

Directions:
Place the candy canes into a Ziploc bag and use a rolling pin or metal frying pan to crush into tiny little bits. Set aside in a bowl for later.
Line a jelly roll pan with a sheet of wax paper, and use the butter to grease the paper. This will help free the chocolate later.
In a double boiler (or a heat safe mixing bowl situated over a pot), melt the milk chocolate. Pour onto wax paper and spread evenly. Shaking the pan a little will help spread everything out. Place in refrigerator for 20 minutes.
Pull the milk chocolate out of fridge. Using the double boiler, melt the white chocolate and mix in the peppermint extract. Pour over the milk chocolate and spread evenly. Sprinkle crushed candy canes on top and gently press into the chocolate. Place in refrigerator for 20 minutes, or until hardened.
Remove bark from fridge and let sit for 15 minutes. Flip upside down onto another sheet of wax paper, and peel the paper off the bottom. Break the bark into bite size pieces.