Peppermint Bark

Last year I mastered Mark's FAVORITE Christmas candy, Peanut Brittle! This year I decided to take on his other favorite, Peppermint Bark. This was much easier than the brittle. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 24 ounces white chocolate chips
• 24 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 teaspoon peppermint extract
• crushed candy canes or peppermints
  
• Cookie Sheet lined with foil
• Cooking Spray

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with tin foil and spray.

2. Pour the semisweet chocolate chips onto the pan and spread them around evenly. Bake for a couple of minutes until they look barely melted. Then take the pan out of the oven and spread the chips around with a spatula. Put the pan in the refrigerator to cool and harden for at least 30 minutes.

3. Melt the white chocolate chips in a double boiler, stirring constantly. (You can do this in the microwave but I have the tendency to burn chocolate in the microwave.) Stir in 1 teaspoon of peppermint extract and the candy cane dust. Mix until smooth.

4. Pour over the top of your COOLED semisweet chocolate layer. Do it quickly as the brown chocolate will begin to melt from the heat of the white chocolate and too much spreading around will cause swirls in your bark. (Tastes the same, but not as pretty.)

5. Sprinkle top with candy pieces and press down to ensure they stick.

6. Refrigerate for several hours, then break the bark into chunks.

7. Store in an airtight container in the fridge. Remove from fridge about 5 minutes before serving.

Tips from a Kitchen of Reality

- Go to ALDI to buy your chocolate!! We don't have one at the beach and I paid an arm and a leg for bags of chips. Might have been cheaper to buy the bark already made... but we won't think about that!!

- I used starlight mints for my peppermints and they were a PAIN to break up. Candy canes would be easier for sure!

- I'm not sure why you have to store this in the fridge, I am not and it isn't sticking together. Can't think of any other reason to do so.

*** Original recipe found HERE ***