Peppermint Bark!

Today I have a treat to share...and some stamping! One of my favorite treats to make and share at Christmas time is Peppermint Bark! MMMMMM. I love anything minty and chocolatey. Peppermint Mochas...York patties...and Peppermint Bark. It's super easy to make (although really messy) and a nice treat to give others. Everyone seems to like it. I had fun this year documenting the process for you and making some cute tags to put on the boxes and bags. I hope you decide to try it!

All you need to make Peppermint Bark is Chocolate, Candy Canes, and Peppermint Extract! How easy is that? I like to buy Ghirardelli Chocolate because it seems more creamy to me. Don't use old chocolate because it won't melt nicely.

Melting chocolate is simple, but you need to take your time so it doesn't scorch. I make it in the microwave! I like to use pyrex glass for the melting process. Put all the chocolate chips in the dish and microwave for about one minute. Stir and then microwave again at 30 second intervals...stirring each 30 seconds. To make it shiny, you can add about a teaspoon of crisco to the chocolate.

 
 

Once your darker chocolate is melted (you can use milk chocolate or semi sweet or dark - your preference! I like to mix semi sweet and dark together) spoon it onto a cookie sheet lined with wax paper. spread it around to try to get a nice even layer. Then put it in the fridge. You want it very hard and cold before doing the next step.  

 

 

Now, the fun part! Smashing candy canes! Put them in a freezer bag and take out your agressions! Hee hee. You want some little chunks left for decoration. Now, melt your white chocolate same as the darker chocolate. After your white chocolate is melted, put in 1-2 teaspoons of Peppermint extract and candy cane chunks and stir, stir, stir!

 
 

 

Take the darker chocolate out of the fridge and spoon the white chocolate on top. I like mine very separate, but some people wait for the hot white chocolate to melt the dark chocolate and swirl it. After you put on the white chocolate mixture, sprinkle more candy cane pieces on top! Then stick it back in the refrigerator.

 

 

This time around, I tried making some in this little silicone mini muffin thingee I have. It ended up making them like little candies instead of the traditional bark.

 

Let it cool for a long time - at least a few hours. Take your bark out of the fridge and break it into pieces. Now it's ready to eat!

 

 

I wish my computer had smell-o-vision so you could smell the minty-ness of this! It smells so fresh and yummy. Doesn't taste bad either (of course I had to taste test it, right?)

 

 

Here's how the little candy ones came out:

 

 

 
 

 

Next, to start on the tags! I used this cute set from PTI - Tiny Treats Xmas - for the first set. I used Kiwi Kiss and Real Red inks from Stampin' Up and a giant punch I have had for years.

 

 

For giving out, I used some of these boxes from Wilton. They are about four inches square and I found them at Joann's Crafts in the cake making section. Line the box with wax paper in case the chocolate melts.

 

 

Ready to go!

 

 

 

 
 

I ended up making three kinds of tags...of course, all with a peppermint theme! These were all the stamps I had that were candy cane related! Do you love that little penguin guy? SO cute!

 

 

I used a few Copics for the image. I added glitter glue to the white parts of the candy cane and his hat. I put two leaf punches together to make it look like a wreath on the bottom.

 

 

I only had a few of the boxes, so the rest of my treats went into cello bags and glassine bags. I stapled them shut and then double-sided taped the tags onto the front. Pretty!

 

 

 

 

 

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

 
 

 

Comments

[Audrey Pettit]

Wow, I wish we had smell-o-vision, too! That Peppermint bark looks out of this world good! Makes me think of my disaster at Peppermint bark last year. My friend and I got together to bake, but we couldn't find any good white chocolate at the store. Settled for cheaper stuff and started baking. But when we went to taste it, it was nasty. Totally nasty. Ended up throwing it out. :(
Maybe I need to try again, because yours looks fabulous! LOVE your packaging with those sweet tags, too.

[Suzanne Schmidt]

great gift idea and I LOVE your presentation! I wish I had more time this year to get crafty like you did! :)

[TeaDub!]

Oh yum...I can just smell those crushed candy canes and that chocolate! No fair I can't taste it!

[Lin]

Hi Wanda, me again......what quantities of chocolate do you use? 2 bags of chocolate plus 1 of white chocolate? (We may try this in the next few days.....) Thanks!

[Penny]

This is so timely! My daughters were drooling over the Peppermint Bark in the Williams Sonoma catalog and I told them there was no way we were spending that kind of money. This is the perfect weekend project leading up to the holidays. Thanks, Penny

[Lin]

What a great post! Yes, I would definitely try these.....we do a "treat" swap with some friends each Christmas, and these would be perfect! Thank you! Love your presentation, too - will bookmark this for next year!

[Holly Saveur]

Oh Wanda this looks so great!
Wished I could pop over to taste it.
We don't have those kind of treats here.
Those gifts look so gorgeous with the tags like the bags very much too!
There will be some very lucky people around you.

[Mark]

Wow spectacular! It tastes even better!