peppermint bark

   One of my favorite treats around the holidays is peppermint bark. I remember being in William and Sonoma many years ago seeing it there Peppermint bark. I was intrigued and luckily they had taste samplings.  I fell in love.  Can you tell I really like mint and chocolate together.....?    for one pound of it, they were charging almost $30 including tax.  Seeing I am too cheap to shell that kind of money out, I knew I could re create this. And so can you!!!

 

Peppermint Bark

*12 oz chocolate chips  (semi sweet)
*1 pound white chocolate chips ( good quality.. see tips)
1/2 t peppermint extract (if using oil use less just a few drops)
1/2 cup peppermint candy, crushed ( pup it in zip lock bag and  whack with rolling pin or give t o my kids to help.

 Directions
Preheat oven to 250. Line a 9x13 pan with foil, letting it hang over the sides. Spray foil. Pour the chocolate chips in an even layer on the foil. Place in oven for 5 minutes or until almost melted. Remove from oven, smooth with an offset spatula or knife. Place in refrigerator until cold and firm, about 20 minutes.
Melt white chocolate chips in a double boiler or in a metal bowl over simmering water (don’t let bottom of bowl touch water), until chocolate is almost melted. You can use your microwave for this if you’re brave! Remove bowl from water and stir until completely melted, stirring in extract. Let cool a little bit so it doesn’t melt the chocolate layer when you pour it on top. Pour this over chocolate layer, and, working quickly, spread to cover. Sprinkle with crushed candy.
Chill until both layers are firm. Lift foil out of pan and shake off excess candy. Trim edges.  Peel bark from foil and cut each strip as desired. Chill in covered container. Makes about 2 pounds.
Tips  for Perfect Bark:
1. Don't make the layers too thin as this can cause the layers to separate.
2. Take the bottom layer out of the frig a few minutes prior to spreading the top layer. Sometimes if the bottom is too cold, the top will set but may not bond completely with the bottom. 
3. If there's condensation on the bottom when you remove it from the frig, sometimes this prevents the top from sticking to it, as well.
4. *I use white chocolate chips that contain cocoa butter (guittard is a great brand), which are good quality chips. Read the label as the kind of white chocolate you use may affect the bonding.  I also use a good quality semisweet chocolate chips - again, read labels - the label should say they are real chocolate, not "chocolate flavored".  I have used the white and chocolate  flavored "barks"  that are sold in blocks, the taste is so much better with real chocolate and when using multiple layers a good quality is the best.
5. Let the bark sit out a few minutes before you try to cut or break it apart.
   recipe adapted from Ritas Kitchen