I LOVE Peppermint bark. Mmmm. So when I was given a big bag of white chocolate recently, I decided to make some. This recipe is super easy. It truly takes less than 10 minutes of actual work if you’re using a microwave to melt your chocolate. And by adding a couple drops of pure grade peppermint essential oil, you kick it up a notch or two. Irresistible.
Here’s what you need:
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 cups white chocolate pieces
2-3 mini candy canes (or peppermint candy or large candy canes–whatever works for you)
Peppermint essential oil (make sure it’s a pure grade oil that can be ingested–not all essential oils are created equal and not all are safe to ingest)
a bit of coconut oil
Here’s how to do it:
First, find a casserole or cookie sheet to use for this recipe. For me, this was a hit and miss process. I thought it would taste great to make SUPER THICK peppermint bark, but realized that it’s hard to bite into. So, after trying a few different dishes, casseroles and containers, I ended up with a small cookie sheet measuring 9×13. This made the peppermint bark the perfect thickness (in my humble opinion) and it also fit into my fridge side freezer which was an added plus.
After you’ve got your pan, give it a light coat of coconut oil.
Next, dump your chocolate chips in a small bowl, add about 1/2 tablespoon of coconut oil (this helps it be spreadable and also helps keep it more firm when it’s done and sitting at room temperature). It’s SUPER IMPORTANT that you don’t overheat your chocolate. It will get crunchy and won’t ever get soft again…..sooooo….put it in the microwave for 1 minute. Pull it out and stir. It might not be very melted at this point but that’s okay. Stir anyway. Then, put it back in for 30 seconds to 1 minute. Pull it back out and stir some more. At this point is should be mostly melted and if you keep stirring it for a few seconds, the rest of the small chunks will melt.
(You can also use a double boiler to melt your chocolate if you would rather. Either way you’ll end at the same result, one method just takes longer than the other.)
Dump this melted chocolate into the cookie sheet and use a spatula to evenly spread it over the entire surface. Put this in the freezer.
While the chocolate firms up in the freezer, take a rolling-pin and crush 2-3 mini candy canes. If you’re careful, you can crush them right in the baggies they come in (occasionally one of mine broke out of the bag, but mostly it worked). If you don’t like taking chances, put the candy canes in a zip baggie and crush them like that. You’ll want mostly pretty finely smashed pieces, with some bigger chunks too. Set the crushed candy canes aside.
Peek at the chocolate in the freezer. Once it’s totally hard and cold, then melt the white chocolate just like you melted the dark chocolate. Add a bit of coconut oil to the white chocolate, put in microwave for 1 minute, stir, 30 seconds to 1 minute more, stir out the lumps. Once the white chocolate is smooth, add 2-5 drops of peppermint essential oil. (You might want to add a bit and taste it to see how you like it–because remember–if you’re using GOOD peppermint oil, one drop is the equivalent to 20+ cups of peppermint tea. A little goes a long ways.)
After you’ve stirred the peppermint oil in, pull the frozen sheet of chocolate out of the freezer (LEAVE IT IN THERE UNTIL RIGHT NOW) and spread the white chocolate layer on top. You need to work quickly and not fuss too much with this 2nd layer because you don’t want this hot layer of candy to melt the bottom layer. Next, sprinkle the crushed candy cane over the top of the white layer while it’s still warm and melty.
Put it all back in the freezer until hard. Pull out and break into pieces.
That’s how easy it is. And tasty too. Mmm. Enjoy!
