- Laundry
- Vacuum
- Grocery store
- Make peppermint bark
The other things can wait, right?
Yesterday when I mentioned my love for Williams-Sonoma’s peppermint bark, Molly, an awesome blog reader, emailed me with her recipe for the festive treat and I knew I had to take a crack at it today.
Fortunately Molly’s recipe was really easy!
Making the peppermint bark was a fun alternative to baking Christmas cookies and left me in the holiday spirit. (It probably helped that I was playing my Mannheim Steamroller CD on repeat.)
Molly’s Peppermint Bark
Ingredients:
- 1 pound dark or semi-sweet chocolate*
- 1 pound white chocolate*
- 1 to 2 teaspoons peppermint extract (I used 1 tsp.)
- 1 teaspoon canola oil
- 4 to 5 regular-size candy canes, crushed
*Note: I highly recommend using a block of good quality chocolate for this recipe (I used Baker’s brand baking blocks). Chocolate chips don’t work as well because they have stabilizers in them, and the layers in the bark tend to separate.
Directions:
- Line a baking sheet (with raised edges) with foil, and spray with non-stick spray.
- Melt dark chocolate in microwave (30 second intervals on high, stirring in between).
- Add 1/2 tsp. of canola oil and spread evenly in pan. Refrigerate until solid.
- Melt white chocolate using the same method, and add 1/2 tsp. of oil, as well as the peppermint extract.
- Spread white chocolate mixture over dark chocolate layer (it is best to let the white chocolate cool a bit, so it doesn’t melt the dark chocolate and swirl layers together).
- Sprinkle crushed candy cane pieces on top, and refrigerate (or freeze) until solid.
- Remove from cookie sheet, peel off foil layer, and chop into pieces. Enjoy!
I have a feeling this peppermint bark will take the place of my holiday pretzel treats as my go-to homemade holiday sweet treat to give to friends.
And I just realized something: This recipe makes two pounds of peppermint bark.
There are currently two people in our house right now.
Coincidence?
I think not.
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Perfection!
Beware: A (glorious!) peppermint bark-induced stomach ache awaits anyone who makes this!
That looks amazing!
i love making bark!
Ooh! This looks soo good and so simple to make! This will be added to my Christmas goodies to make list.
This sounds too easy to not try!
I’ve never seen that Baker’s white chocolate, but I think some Ghiradelli white chocolate would be a worth while splurge 😉
So glad you enjoyed the recipe, Julie! It’s definitely become one of my go-to holiday gifts!!
thank YOU for sharing, molly! it’s already a HUGE hit in our house.
I made my first ever bark yesterday & Paula deen told me to stir in my peppermint. weird!!
I was just about to make some peppermint bark! I’ve never made it before, but it looks like fun, and it’s certainly delicious. 🙂
I once used white chocolate chips to make this and it was an epic fail!
Yum! 🙂 I’m in a major holiday treat making mood but living alone makes it tough to do! lol. I usually end up with a treat induced tummy ache and need to get them delivered to others as soon as possible!
I love peppermint bark – this recipe looks awesome!
Those photos are so festive and beautiful! Looks delicious, too!
It keeps really well for a long time in the freezer!
Peppermint bark is on my Christmas “baking” list…thanks for the directions, it looks amazing! 🙂
How long do you reckon it would keep for? (if I can keep my hands of it that is!) & would you keep it in the fridge or room temperature?
Thanks! I’ve never made any type of “bark” before (I don’t think it’s so popular in the UK) but keep seeing it on American blogs and wanting to try it!
Whoops – my reply above was supposed to be on this comment, sorry!
No worries! And thanks, I love making treats that I can keep in the freezer – that way I can have more variety at once! 😀
I LOVE peppermint bark – it’s such a festive treat! I also love simple recipes, so this is perfect.
umm looks delicious!
That looks amazing!! My favorite candy to make at the holidays is saltine cracker candy. I call it crack candy because it is insanely addictive. Salty (crackers) & sweet (chocolate & caramel) the perfect combo. Let me know if you’d like the recipe. 🙂
oh my gosh, a guy at my work brought that in last year. his mom made it and we could NOT stop eating it!!
Repeat to self: I will not lick the screen. I will not lick the screen. I will not lick the screen…. Note to self: screens do not taste like chocolate, obvi. 🙂 These look great Julie, great recipe Molly! Julie here is a great idea for Christmas you might enjoy.
http://deliciousdeliciousdelicious.blogspot.com/2010/02/chocolate-party-spoons.html
HOW CUTE??!!
Looks good! Is a traditional Christmas treat in the US? We’re all about mince pies and Christmas pudding here…peppermint bark looks way better and much quicker to make!
it’s pretty popular here!
I like that recipe! It seems easy enough and will be great to give out in my office as holiday gifts! Thanks for posting!
Have you tried Rold Gold’s Peppermint Covered Snowflakes? I found them at Costco yesterday and they are amazing! They are basically peppermint bark dipped pretzels!
That peppermint bark looks incredible!
So making this! How festive 🙂
Peppermint bark is my all-time favorite!
awesome recipe! great idea to give out to ppl for holiday gifts – saves money and adds a homemade flare!
I made peppermint bark last year and my recipe was pretty similar- it is definitely delicious and a perfect, inexpensive gift!
Have you tried Hershey’s Candy Cane Kisses? I think you would love them! Caution though: they’re SUPER addictive and delicious.
yessss. love them!
I am literally. drooling. And just heading out the door to a holiday potluck, where I will be SO disappointed now if no one brings peppermint bark haha.
Why do I not have baking chocolate at my disposal right now? Oh, dear. This needs to be made ASAP.
I’m obsessed with William and Sonoma’s peppermint bark too!!! soooo so delicious. This looks just like it too so I may have to give this a shot too. thanks Molly!
I never knew that about using high quality chocolate–I tried making cake batter bark last year and the vanilla and chocolate layers kept separating. I’ll have to give it a try again this year using Baker’s chocolate.
Thanks for the tip–bark is such a pretty treat! Especially with the peppermint candies in it.
Mmm this looks amazing! I haven’t had any peppermint bark yet, but after seeing this, I might have to soon! Enjoy your lb! 🙂
Thanks for sharing!! I am sooooo excited to try this!! It will be perfect for my office’s Christmas party.
We are headed to William Sonoma next weekend for some gifts, and I plan on hitting the sample tables while browsing!
haha. Looks awesome! I love mint anything 🙂
It’s so funny that you posted this today – I tried the Williams Sonoma peppermint bark for the first time today when they were giving out samples in the store. It was kind of expensive so I didn’t get any. How convenient that there is a recipe here that I can make now! 🙂
omg that looks so good, i can practically taste it!
About your protein oats. I usually just add water to my oatmeal with a kettle. If I have oatmeal/protein powder together it is typically in smoothie form.
I’m afraid that if I add protein powder + oats + hot kettle water it will lump up very gross (I use either a vegan protein powder or a 100% whey isolate protein). Also, how many grams of protein do you use at once? (15 or 20 or 30 grams?)
i just use a scoop! i think it’s around 30 grams (weight) which equals about 20g of protein.
Thank you so much for posting the recipe, I’ve pinned it and will have to make it this weekend. I’ve been craving for some and was thisclose to ordering it from WS today.
Oh my gosh, the bark looks so fun and festive!!!! Not to mention tasty….I will definately making those this holiday season. I never even thought to make it homemade. Yummm.
Wow, that does look super easy! I’ll have to give that a shot! My favorite Christmas cookie alternative is a toffee that is made with saltine crackers!
Yum looks delish! My aunt makes a double chocolate caramel salted bark…I devour it during the holidays!
I think I can definitely handle this recipe. I can’t bake a Christmas cookie to save my life but this is totally doable.
That looks amazing! I was just oogling the Williams and Sonoma catalog that came in the mail yesterday which had their bark on the cover. I should try and be brave and make my own..
I was going to buy a bag of peppermint bark at the store today and decided I rather just make my own like I usually do! I usually use chocolate chips but I do notice the chocolate tends to seize up and is not pourable. Now I know why, stabilizers. Makes sense!
You can always share the 2 pounds with me 😉
Ah, this is perfect! We are almost through our tin of William Sonoma peppermint bark (2 people…2 days. I feel pretty bad about it, but wanted more! without having to pay the crazy prices!) THANKS
Just had my first baking experience with Barker’s semi-sweet chocolate while baking oreo cheesecake bites over thankgiving. Delish! Your peppermint bark looks awesome!!!
Nice work! Im more of a milk Chocolate person…think Milk in lieu of semi sweet would work just as well?
yes, definitely! as long as it’s high-quality and not chocolate chips!
Ha. I figured so. And indeed. I dont splurge much, but when it come to Chocolate, I only buy the stuff worth while! Thanks and have a great week!
Another great recipe is Paul Deen’s recipe for Pine Bark. 🙂
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/pine-bark-recipe/index.html
It’s only five ingredients and always a hit!
My mouth is watering…those look SO delicious!
Yum! I can’t wait to make this for an upcoming party! I’ll try to play Mannheim Steamroller while making the bark, too! I saw them live at Universal Studios last year, they were fantastic live!!
I love how festive it looks! It would probably be really fun to use half regular candy canes and half green and white ones!!