Holiday season peppermint bark

Ingredients: 

1/2 package white almond bark 

1/2 package chocolate almond bark 

1 tsp. peppermint extract 

1 package regular peppermint candy canes 

Instructions: 

To begin, you will need to crush the candy canes. Double bag a gallon-sized Ziploc bag and place half of the package of candy canes inside it—be sure to remove the plastic covering from each candy cane first. Using a the handle of a butter knife or another blunt and flat item, crush the candy canes inside the bags; to muffle the noise, place a towel or two beneath the bag. Once the candy canes are in very small pieces, dump into a medium-sized bowl. Repeat with the rest of the candy canes.  

In the meanwhile, in a microwavable medium-sized bowl heat up the white almond bark in the microwave until fully melted and smooth. Repeat with the chocolate almond bark. Keep the two almond barks separate. Next, pour half of the crushed candy canes into the bowl of melted white almond bark; mix well. Then, pour the other half of the crushed candy canes into the bowl of melted chocolate almond bark; mix well. 

For this next step, you can either use one large-sized cookie sheet or two small cookie sheets. Locate the desired cookie sheet; place a sheet of parchment or wax paper on the cookie sheet or sheets. If using one large-sized cookie sheet, pour all of the melted white almond bark and candy cane mixture into half of the sheet and then pour all of the melted chocolate almond bark and candy cane mixture in the other half. If using two small, separate cookie sheets instead, pour all of one melted candy cane mixture in one sheet and the other in another sheet. Pick up the sheet (or sheets) and move side-to-side slightly to even out the bark. 

Next, place the sheet(s) of peppermint bark in the refrigerator to set and cool for approximately two to four hours. Check on the bark after a few hours and if it needs to set more, place it back in the fridge for another hour and repeat. 

Once the peppermint bark has completely set, remove the sheet(s) from the fridge. Now is time to break it into pieces. Using the handle or dull side of a butter knife, hit the set peppermint bark in various locations to break it into pieces. If smaller pieces are desired, hit the peppermint bark in more places and more frequently—though do not hit it too much this will produce too small of pieces, larger pieces typically are better. After breaking the bark into pieces, place in a container and store in the fridge. 

Enjoy for a sweet, pepperminty, holiday treat! 

Commentary: 

I first began making this peppermint bark recipe back in high school because I grew up helping out making holiday treats each year. One of my favorite flavors is peppermint, which is the main thing I look forward to during Christmas time! Because of this, I wanted to figure out how to create my own peppermint bark. 

Surprising to me, making peppermint bark was much easier (and much more fun!) than I thought it would be; really anyone could make this! If you also enjoy tasty peppermint and want to make a delicious treat for your family or friends this year try out this peppermint recipe, you’ll return to it each year! 

Happy holidays!