No-Fail Easy Peppermint Bark Recipe

This is the easy peppermint bark recipe you want to make with your kids! It turns out perfectly every time, because there’s really no wrong way to make it…

This recipe was created in partnership with Meijer’s Home Delivery service, shopped by Shipt — same-day service direct from your local Meijer, delivered to wherever you are. #BeMerryWithMeijer Thanks for supporting me and the brands I love! Be sure to scroll down to enter a truly AMAZING giveaway…

Holiday stress… Is it getting to you, too? With what feels like a million-and-one things left to check off my list, I’m feeling more than a little anxious at the moment. Current situation: we have family coming in on Sunday, my house is quite literally trashed, I still have gifts to purchase (and groceries — gah!), and my 11-year-old has been begging me to make good on my promise to help her make peppermint bark. Where do I start?

What I really want to do is veg out in my comfy sweats with a cup of coffee and watch Elf on repeat. But instead, I hopped online and placed an order for some cleaning essentials and peppermint bark ingredients from Meijer via Shipt (w/ same-day service, it’s the BEST way to prep for the holiday!). Then I worked a little deal with my daughter: you help me with some quick cleaning, and then we’ll make peppermint bark. She agreed, so we rolled up our sleeves and got to work.

A short while later, my order arrived, so we put the cleaning on hold to start making the peppermint bark recipe. Now, if I’m being honest, my intentions weren’t purely unselfish. In the back of my mind I was thinking about how I could kill two birds with one stone by photographing the peppermint bark recipe to share here on my blog. In my mind I’m picturing beautiful layers of semi-sweet and white chocolate, topped with glistening crushed peppermint pieces, à la Williams-Sonoma…

You can imagine where this is going. I really should have known better, you know? Chocolate can be a tricky substance to work with, especially when you’re layering it. It needs to be heated slowly and gently to just the right temperature, and then it needs to be cooled to just the right temperature to allow the layers to stick together. Because if you rush it? The layers end up swirling together. Wait too long? The bark separates into two layers when you break it into pieces.

So yeah, I ended up rushing it in order to get back to my to do list — and of course, I was upset with myself. That’s when my daughter stepped in to give me some perspective: “It’s okay, Mommy! We can swirl it together like this, and it will still be delicious. Pass me those crushed candy canes. See?!” All the while, I’m still thinking about how I have time to remake it, and I’ll just let the first layer cool more, and it will look awesome…

You know what? I feel like the grinchiest Grinch ever, but yes, I did remake it. And it was beautiful and everything I wanted it to be: Pinterest-perfect, clean, even layers topped with pretty sparkling peppermint crunch. And I hated it! It was boring, it lacked personality, and it took seriously waayyy too much patience and attention to detail to achieve that perfection.

Tips For Making This Peppermint Bark Recipe

It’s ironic because my goal has always been to share authentic and approachable recipes with you all, but it took my 11-year-old’s influence to open my eyes to the beauty of this perfectly imperfect peppermint bark recipe. Which is why I’m calling this a No-Fail Easy Peppermint Bark Recipe, because it’s a simple and attainable treat that you can make with your kids, too.

A few helpful tips for working with chocolate:

1| For a smooth and creamy texture, choose a good quality chocolate. I like Ghirardelli, and it so happens that it’s on sale at Meijer right now!

2| Heat it very slowly over low heat. I like to use this DIY double boiler method, and I keep a close eye on it. Remove it from the heat while there are still large chunks of unmelted chocolate, and stir until they’re incorporated.

3| Be very careful not to let any condensation or water drip into your water, as it will cause it to seize up. There’s really no recovering it at that point, so just be sure to wipe any moisture off the bowl before pouring.

Beautiful, yes?! The real beauty of this peppermint bark, though, is that you can keep the ingredients on hand to make it at a moment’s notice. With about 15 minutes of work, you can produce a treat that looks like it required far more effort. It’s perfect for entertaining, as well as gift giving!

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No-Fail Easy Peppermint Bark

Yield: 24 pieces

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes

This is the peppermint bark recipe you want to make with your kids! It turns out perfectly every time, because there's really no wrong way to make it...

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Ingredients

• 16-oz. chopped good quality semi-sweet chocolate
• 5 drops peppermint oil
• 12-oz. chopped good quality white chocolate
• 1/4 crushed peppermint candy (about 3-4 candy canes)*

Instructions

1. Slowly and gently melt the semi-sweet chocolate over low heat in a double boiler.
2. Remove the bowl from the heat when there are still a few chunks of chocolate left, add the peppermint oil, and continue stirring until the peppermint is incorporated and the remaining chunks melt. Be careful not to get any condensation in your melted chocolate.
3. Pour the chocolate onto a baking sheet covered with parchment paper, and spread it out toward the edges with an offset spatula. Allow the semi-sweet chocolate to set while you melt the white chocolate.
4. Repeat the melting process with the white chocolate. Pour it back and forth over the semi-sweet chocolate, then use a toothpick to swirl the two together as desired.
5. Sprinkle the crushed peppermint candy on top, pressing it in gently.
6. Allow the chocolate to cool until it hardens. You can speed this process up by popping it in the refrigerator for a few minutes. Then break it up into chunks.
7. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to two weeks. Or you can freeze it for longer term storage.

Notes

*For prettier crushed peppermint candy, poured the crushed candy into a large strainer to remove the fine dust created when crushing.

Have you tried this recipe?

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More Easy Homemade Candy Recipes

If you like this saltine cracker toffee recipe, you might also enjoy these other delicious homemade candy recipes:

• 4-Ingredient Saltine Cracker Toffee
• Peanut Butter Jet Puffed Fudge
• Classic Buckeye Recipe
• White Chocolate Haystack Cookies

Did you make this recipe?
Tag @unsophisticook on Instagram and hashtag it #unsophisticook.