If you have been paying $10 at the store for a tin of peppermint bark, please stop reading this now. I would hate for you to see how easy it is to make this tasty treat and then be furious at yourself for being ripped off by retailers everywhere. That’s just a lousy way to start a holiday.

There are lots of things I love about peppermint bark. First, you can easily wrap it up and give it to someone as a holiday gift. Tied with a cute bow, this is a fun way to say, “I’m glad you’re my friend!” Secondly, it’s made of chocolate. Okay, maybe that should have been the first reason I love it. Third, you can cut the pieces the size you like, which means I can take little nibbles all day long and then have a big piece for dessert after dinner.

If you have some extra candy canes on your tree, don’t throw them away! Print this post and use those as your top peppermint layer! And if you want to make this at a time of year when candy canes aren’t for sale, just use some of the pinwheel mints that you can find year round in the store.

I found this recipe on allrecipes.com and tinkered with it slightly to fit my personal tastes.

peppermint bark

8 oz semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate
1/2 tsp vegetable oil
8 oz white chocolate
1/2 tsp peppermint extract (or just use really small bits leftover from crushing the peppermint pieces), divided
3-6 candy canes, to taste

First, measure out the dark chocolate and the oil into a microwave safe bowl and microwave at one minute intervals, stirring between each minute, until chocolate is smooth. Line an 8×8 dish with waxed paper and pour the chocolate onto the paper. Spread evenly. Chill for 30 minutes in the refrigerator.

Remove pan from fridge and use a sharp knife to score the surface of the chocolate.

Measure out your white chocolate and microwave until melted. Once melted, mix in the  peppermint extract and pour on top of the dark chocolate.

Crush the peppermint candies and spread them on top of the white chocolate. Press them into the white chocolate so that the chocolate hardens around them.

Let the mixture stand at room temperature for 20 minutes. Then, chill the bark until the white chocolate has just hardened, about 20-30 more minutes. Use a butter knife to break the peppermint bark into pieces. If the pieces will not break, grip the bark using a piece of waxed paper and bend the bark to break it into serving-sized pieces.

Refrigerate for longer term storage. Remove bark from the fridge 30 minutes before serving for best results.

**********************************************************************************

If your bark separates into layers when you cut it, next time try the following:

1) score the dark chocolate more deeply

2) try different brands of chocolate (I have excellent success with Ghiradelli bittersweet chocolate chips and Trader Joe’s white chocolate chips)

3) Don’t let the mixture stay in the fridge too long before trying to break it into pieces. As mentioned above, break the bar into pieces just after the white chocolate has begun to harden. If you wait much longer, the white chocolate becomes more brittle.