Peppermint Bark

Peppermint Bark is one of my favorite gifts to give during the holiday season. It is absolutely delicious and because it's truly a seasonal treat, it feels extra special to enjoy this classic candy. The past years I've always picked up peppermint bark from stores like William & Sonoma, but this year I decided to try and make it on my own. I was surprised to find that it's very easy and my husband and I even tinkered with a recipe to make it even better! 

Ingredients

-16 oz of semi sweet chocolate chips or bars(you can use different chocolate to render different flavors depending on what you want)

-16 oz white chocolate chips or bars

-12-20 candy canes(miniature work best)

-Peppermint Extract

-Vanilla Extract

Double Broiler Set-up

20 Inch pan

Spatula

Directions

-In a plastic bag, place the candy canes inside, crush up and set aside for later

~In a double broiler, place the semi sweet chocolate chips in the double broiler and set the stove to a LOW setting. If the setting is too high, you will burn the chocolate

- Intermittently stir the chips with the spatula until all the chips are melted and smoothed over

-Place approximately 1 tsp. vanilla extract and 1 tsp peppermint extract in the melted mixture and stir well

-Removing from the broiler, pour the contents onto the pan and smooth over with the spatula so that it is evenly spread 

-Place the pan either in the freezer or outside(if you are somewhere where it gets pretty cold) for about an hour

-After about 30-45 minutes you can start the next phase

-This involves the exact same process only with the white chocolate 

-Once the white chocolate is melted and the vanilla and peppermint extract have been added, bring out/in the pan and pour the white chocolate on top of the other chocolate and spread evenly 

-You can also choose to sprinkle some crushed candy cane inside the melted chocolate and stir it up to add some extra pepperminty-ness!

-Once it has  been poured, sprinkle the crushed candy canes from earlier, place back inside the freezer or set outside for another 3-5 hours for best results

-After done freezing, take out and cut into squares and enjoy!