Chocolate Peppermint Bark - Christmas

Submitted by Jb Tyler, TX

"Christmas candy - Two kinds of chocolate with peppermint chips. Yummy! So pretty, and great for gift giving. I have used chocolate bark (dark and white) with good results and it was less expensive, and hardens up beautifully"

 

• Ready In: 20mins
• Ingredients: 3
• Yields: 1 1/2 pounds
• Serves: 20-30

ingredients

• 12 ounces quality white chocolate (like Ghirardelli)
• 12 ounces quality dark chocolate (like Ghirardelli)
• 1⁄2 cup crushed peppermint candy (I use starlite)

directions

1. Line a 9x12 pan with parchment paper.
2. Melt the dark chocolate (use the method you prefer, either double boiler, or microwave - cook 30 seconds in a heat-proof bowl, stir and repeat until you have a smooth consistency.
3. Pour the melted dark chocolate on the parchment paper, spread the chocolate out until it is about 1/3" thick. You can do this by hitting the pan on the countertop repeatedly, or maybe you could use a spatula to spread the chocolate.
4. Melt the white chocolate, using the steps above. After the chocolate is smooth, pour it on top of the dark chocolate - trying to make the layers the same thickness. (it's best to do this step while the white chocolate is still very soft -- I've had them separate when I broke them into pieces, I think the layers "stick" together better if the white chocolate has not hardened).
5. Unwrap the starlite mints, or peppermints of your choice and put them into a heavy duty ziplock bag. Using a hammer or meat tenderizer - crush the mints then, while the white chocolate is still melted sprinkle on top.
6. Let the chocolates harden in the refrigerator for 2 hours, then break the candy into pieces. This needs to be stored in the refrgerator if you live in a warm/humid climate.

Reviews

[Greeny4444]

I made this tonight, and it turned out great - not quite as pretty as the submitter's, but not bad for my first try! The directions were very easy to follow. I used one bag each of Herhey's Special Dark chocolate chips and Nestle white chocolate chips, both 12 oz. I was already using my 9x12 pan to make fudge, so I just used a large, circular metal cookie tray. I did all the melting in the microwave in Pyrex measuring cups, so it was really easy. After I spread the dark chocolate and put it in the fridge to harden (but before I melted the white chocolate), I placed 25 Brach's peppermint candies into doubled-up ziploc sandwich baggies and crushed the crap out of them with a meat mallet. Then, I put a strainer over a bowl, and I poured the crushed mints into the strainer, so all the small and powdery pieces went into the bowl. I then melted the white chocolate and poured the tiny mint pieces (from the bowl) into the white chocolate before I spread it (that way, it would be a little more minty, and there's no waste). I then sprinkled the large pieces that were leftover (in the strainer) on top. I wrapped these and some Recipe #107185, and I am going to give some to our neighbor and to the mailman for holiday gifts. Thanks for this recipe!

 

[Patrick M.]

NO one will believe that I made these and they aren't store bought! Here are a couple of helpful hints and things I did slightly differently. First, my dish was 14x10, so I used 1LB of each chocolate. Also, I used a whole dozen candy canes (Bob's). Like Greeny4444, I crushed mine pretty thoroughly in a thick baggie, then used a colander over a bowl to separate the dust and tiny pieces from the chunks. Next, I sprayed my pan with cooking spray so the parchment paper would stick and have very even edges and bottoms (cut a slit at each corner). The parchment paper didn't bunch up at all so everything had perfect edges. I melted the dark chocolate (60%, Ghirardelli baking chocolate) and stirred in all the powder from the candy canes. I spread it out, then tapped it a few times on the counter to even it out, then put this in the fridge to slightly harden while I melted the white chocolate (1/2 Kraft Baker's (sets better) & 1/2 Ghirardelli white chips (tastes better)). I then spread this on top of the dark chocolate and tapped it several times to make it all nice and even. I then put the peppermint chunks on top while it was still hot and used my palm to LIGHTLY press them into the chocolate. Put in the fridge over night and it was fantastic.

 

[Maggie S.]

I made 2 batches of this and I used Callebaut Belgian chocolate - very high end and expensive, but, what a difference! I got blocks of bittersweet, semisweet and white at Whole Foods - you can get this at gourmet shops, Trader Joes, even online from ebay and Amazon. The bark is easily the best I have ever had and has nothing to do with the cook - it was all the chocolate! <br/><br/>I also put the dark layer in the freezer for about 20 minutes and then let it sit out for a little while before adding the white. No delaminating of the layers.<br/><br/>Andes makes peppermint and white chocolate baking chips that is used - about 1/2 cup in the warm white chocolate making it a beautiful light red color and adding a little extra peppermint flavor. I put some of the crushed peppermint in the warm white chocolate also before spreading it on top of the dark. <br/><br/>I really love this recipe and I want to thank everyone for their comments. Try the Callbaut chocolate. What a difference and so very very good!

 

[Stacey T.]

Delicious and easy! I used Lindt white chocolate and it was incredibly easy to pour and spread on a very chilled dark chocolate layer below without melting it. I also broke up candy canes and placed them in a clear Ziplock freezer bag and used the handle of a butter knife to break them into the size i wanted which worked very well as I could easily target oversized pieces without crushing them all. I then sifted the candy canes using a colander as suggested by others here. I covered the warm white chocolate with the crushed candy canes and then picked up the cookie sheet about 4 inches from the counter and let it drop. The candy canes settled into the white chocolate layer without having to use my hands. I then sprinkled on some more crushed candy canes and it looks better than any peppermint bark I've ever seen. Thanks for a great recipe!

 

[Gamer Gal]

wow! that turned out amazing! i made some to give out at Christmas and to be honest i wasn't too hooked on the idea at first i'm not a big mint person but it was wonderful! fyi buy the candy canes to crunch up, i made the mistake of buying the normal circle peppermints and i could not crush this things to save my life! on the upside by happy accident i think i may have come up with an interesting alternative. i got so frustrated trying to crush the candy i finally got annoying and threw the candies in the food processor and ground them to hell in back making them almost like a peppermint dust so i just put it in a shaker and dusted the top of the chocolate with it and i think it turned out that much better for it :) the peppermint candy melted in a bit with the white chocolate and it was wonderful!