Peppermint bark is a special holiday treat that I look forward to every Christmas, and this year I’ve seen several tasty homemade versions featured on some of my favorite blogs. While each recipe I’ve encountered is ever so slightly different, all tout peppermint bark as simple, quick, and well worth the small amount of effort it takes to make. So after doing a little research, I found myself a recipe that, while slightly more complex than the standard, is actually still ridiculously easy to prepare, and will make a Christmas gift for your friends and family that they are sure to love. But beware: once they’ve tasted this peppermint bark, they are certain to demand a repeat performance from you next Christmas. And the Christmas after, and the Christmas after…
Layered Peppermint Bark
Adapted from Molly Wizenberg’s recipe over at Orangette.
• 20 oz. white chocolate
• 12-15 regular-sized candy canes
• 10 oz. bittersweet chocolate
• 6 tablespoons heavy cream
1. Prepare your baking sheet by lining it with aluminum foil.
2. Crush your candy canes by placing them in a freezer bag. Crush them using the side of a can, a rolling pin, or a hammer, making sure not to pierce the bag. You may have to double bag the candy canes to prevent potential mess.
3. Pour half (10 oz) of the white chocolate in a heatproof bowl, and set the bowl over a saucepan with simmering water, making sure that the bottom of the bowl is higher than the water level. Stir the chocolate every 30 seconds or so until it has completely melted. Using a spatula, spread the melted white chocolate over the bottom of the foil-lined cookie sheet. Try to spread the chocolate as evenly as you can, and then sprinkle half of the crushed candy canes over the mixture. Place the cookie sheet in the freezer to harden for 5 minutes.
4. While the white chocolate is freezing, pour all of the bittersweet chocolate and the heavy cream in the bowl, and melt the chocolate over the simmering water as you did before. Stir every thirty seconds or so until the chocolate is fully melted. Remove the cookie sheet with the white chocolate layer from the freezer, and spread the bittersweet chocolate layer over the top as evenly as you can. Place the cookie sheet back in the freezer for five minutes or until the bittersweet chocolate layer has hardened.
5. Melt the remaining half of white chocolate in the bowl over simmering water, and remove the cookie sheet with the hardened chocolate from the freezer. Spread the remaining white chocolate over the top of the dark chocolate layer as evenly as you can, and sprinkle with the remaining crushed candy. Allow the final layer to harden in the freezer for five minutes and remove.
Once all of the layers are thoroughly hardened, you can break the peppermint bark into smaller pieces to fit inside your gift boxes or candy tins. To package my peppermint bark, I lined small gift boxes with wax paper, and labeled them with sage colored square labels in the style Deck the Halls. Very festive!
Helpful Links
- Small Gift Boxes
- Square Label • I chose the “Deck The Halls” style in Sage.
More edible gift ideas from Lindsay Jewell…
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Lindsay is a writer/blogger from Oregon who loves crafting, cooking, gardening, and simple living. You can find her writing about all of this and more on her blog A Wooden Nest.
I love the freshness of ‘bark’ compared to regular Christmas cookies as gifts. The labeled box is also pretty special, as opposed to the regular plate. Also, good for hiding from my ‘compulsive-sweet-wanting’ eyes!
Can’t wait to try it!