WHAT HAVE I DONE?!

okay… calm yourself, phan.

alright, so here’s how it went down.

My mum and I were making peppermint bark, cuz it’s good. Now, this is the first time I’ve made peppermint bark without golden or any culinarily responsible person around. Just my mum who does not bake.

It was all going smooth. We melted the dark chocolate, set it in the pan and put lots of mints on and let it set. Then we started on the second layer: white chocolate. We had it in the double boiler and everything was going just swell. And then it started clumping and it wouldn’t melt smooth. My mum managed to spread some on half of our pan of dark before we gave up and decided to scrape it out of the pan into a bowl and microwave it.

I suggested adding water, because that’s how microwaves work; the micro-waves excite the water molecules. The water molecules start spazzing around really fast and the friction heats up your food.

YEA SCIENCE!

But when there’s no moisture…

I casually warned my mum that maybe this was a bad idea because it would catch on fire, but nooooo, i’m just a dumb teenager that doesn’t know how to microwave stuff.

Mum and I stared at the chocolate through the glass until we noticed a large black bubble rising from the center. Then it sotra popped and there were some baby flames so I slammed my finger into the stop button and let the baby fire go out. I pulled it out and set the bowl done on the counter.

“Why is it all black?” my mum wondered.

BECAUSE IT WAS ONE FIRE.

So then what does my crazy mother do? SHE EATS IT. She ate some. And she said it was reallyreallyreally good so I tried some… And ran to the sink to spit i t out and drink lots and lots of water. I have no idea why it tastes so good to her. She kept saying it tasted like toffee.

Guys, that’s it, my mum’s a psycho.

…

Oh, well at least I have peppermint bark (even though half is missing it’s white chocolate layer).

~Phan

(oh, by the way, I ate some of the cheesecakes I made yesterday. one had a lime curd topping which looks and sounds gross but tastes amazing and a peanut butter chocolate one, which was sorta insanely amazing.)

and now i gotta get back to large amounts of studying

cake balls with skinny candy cane sticks

beginning to set up

chocolate chip walnut cups and sugar cookies

red and green tortilla chips

Christmas pound cake…inside is red and white

peppermint bark is so much fun to make!

traditional black and white cookies Christmasfied!

chocolate dipped pretzels with sprinkles

egg nog bites

preparing some more

Paula Deen quiche

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/spinach-and-bacon-quiche-recipe/index.html

Still, I can’t help occasionally flipping through the magazine’s pages because every now and then I strike gold among “them thar pages.”

It was with that thought in mind that I picked up a copy last week.

Mmmm, thought I, that peppermint fudge looks good. And it says here it only takes twenty minutes to make. 

The treat seemed to meet both my requirements for cookery — looks impressive but is actually a cinch. More importantly, I had all the ingredients at home.

Well, it was simple, but by no means easy, at least not for me, probably because I chose to crush candy canes to use for the “coarsely crushed peppermint candies.” This proved to be not nearly as straightforward as you might imagine. For the record? The plastic wrapping on candy canes is very, very staticky. Combine that detail with my sticky fingers and the activity quickly became a drawn-out mess. Also, my rolling pin will never be the same. (What else would I use to crush them?)

Peppermint candy cane on my scanner (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Nonetheless, the final results were satisfactory. Quite attractive and rather “moreish” as my father-in-law would say, meaning you want to keep eating it.

I didn’t take a picture of the fudge to post here because, well, you’ve seen what a dab hand I am at posting my own photos. (If you haven’t, I suggest you check out the less than stellar photography of the Santa mob in my earlier post.) So, if you want a photo, buy the magazine. Mine looked just like that (honest!), a lot like peppermint bark.

I was going to share the recipe but I’ve heard Disney is a little cranky about copyright, so if you want it, leave a comment, and I’ll tell you how you can get it.

With lots and lots of Holiday Parties approaching for lots of us…it’s always a nice thought to bring something to the table. And I know that most of us are extremely busy these days…so I’m here to offer one of my ABSOLUTE FAVORITE holiday homemade treats…and the best part? You only need three ingredients and maybe 20 minutes of your day to make them.

PEPPERMINT BARK
ingredients:
1 package of graham crackers
crushed up candy canes
(you can do this yourself or buy them pre-crushed!)
baking chocolate
(although I used regular chocolate chips
this last time and they turned out great!)

directions:
lay grahams out on tin foil or wax paper.
melt chocolate in microwave.
pour chocolate onto paper plate.
dip grahams face down into chocolate.
place grahams on tin foil/wax paper.
and sprinkle with candy canes.

ta daaaa!
let them sit for a little while before serving, or place them
in the freezer!…all ready to serve!

Easy right!?
Happy Holidays!

Here’s what I discovered, though: peppermint bark is not only easy to make, but it’s also actually not even that expensive to make. Certainly one could MAKE it expensive with varying qualities of chocolate and adding “laced” ingredients or more expensive topings, etc. But the basic recipe is stupid simple.

N.B.

1. As you will see below, this recipe makes approximately 2 pounds of peppermint bark, with the total cost of ingredients being around $15. So, you’re really getting ripped off if you’re paying $20-30 a pound.
2. For those who have NOT worked with chocolate before…ideally, you want to melt it using a double-broiler. If you don’t have that available (I didn’t when I was making this), you can use a microwave. BUT BEWARE!!! Nothing is worse than burned chocolate. I’d recommend heating the chocolate for 30 seconds at a time, and/or on a lower heat. You must watch it carefully!

Enjoy!

PEPPERMINT BARK

INGREDIENTS

• .75-1 pound dark chocolate
• 1 pound white chocolate
• 12 candy canes, or the equivalent thereof
  

  You may have been overcharged for years for these three ingredients.

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Line a cookie sheet with wax paper.
2. Take any plastic off any candy. Place the candy in a large bag, and crush it using your favorite blunt object.
   

   I don’t like mine overly crunchy, but go for it.

3. Melt the dark chocolate and evenly spread it on the wax paper. Place in the refrigerator.
   
4. When the dark chocolate has set, melt the white chocolate. Spread it evenly on top of the set dark chocolate.
5. Top immediately with the candy (pressing the candy slightly into the white chocolate), and place back in the refrigerator to set.
   
6. Once ready, tear into pieces and enjoy!
   

   Ta-da!

With the holiday season in full swing, I wanted to try a new Christmas dessert. One of my favorite drinks in the wintertime is Starbucks Peppermint Mocha, so I thought this chocolate bark would be a great alternative for a sweet, festive treat.

I have never made Peppermint Bark before, and thought it was going to be a difficult task. This recipe turned out to be very easy and tasted great. Adam doesn’t usually care for chocolate/mint flavored foods, and even he enjoyed it.

I brought some of the bark to share with my co-workers, and they loved it! On a side note, I sent an email out to the office saying, “Help yourselves to the treats in the kitchen! Happy Holidays .” Thinking this is a completely normal email to send out, a coworker told me over lunch that my email was “so American.” I asked why, and she responded that, “No one in Australia calls candy ‘treats,’ they call them lollies or chocolates, and you will never hear someone say ‘Happy Holidays.’” I just shrugged it off because Aussies have a lot of unusual sayings that I haven’t heard before, and I wasn’t about to let her dampen my festive mood.

This is the perfect DIY gift for your neighbors, coworkers, friends, and family! For a seasonal presentation, place in clear bag tied with a red or green ribbon. I hope you enjoy this yummy, festive TREAT! Happy Holidays =)

Source: Joy of Baking

Hands on time: 15-20 minutes
Total time for recipe:1 hour and 15 minutes
Yields: 25-30 pieces

Ingredients:

• 1 bag dark chocolate melts or chips
• 1 bag white chocolate melts or chips
• 10 crushed peppermint candy canes
• 2 tsp vegetable oil

Instructions:

1. Melt the dark chocolate with 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil in a heatproof bowl placed over a saucepan of simmering water, stirring constantly.
2. Once the dark chocolate is melted, quickly transfer to a 9 x 13 inch pan lined with foil. Spread chocolate with a spoon until it is an even layer.
3. Place the dark chocolate in the fridge for 30 minutes or until hardened.
4. While your dark chocolate is hardening, crush your peppermint candy canes. I placed candy cane pieces in a ziploc bag and smashed them with a wooden spoon. If you have a roller, this would work best.
5. When your 30 minutes is almost up, begin to melt your white chocolate in the same way as outlined in step number 1. I added some pieces of crushed candy canes to the white chocolate as it was melting (optional).
6. Once white chocolate is melted, carefully pour over dark chocolate. Carefully, spread evenly across dark chocolate. Sprinkle the rest of your crushed candy cane over the white chocolate, pressing them in a bit to make sure they stay in the chocolate.
7. Place in the fridge for another 30 minutes.
8. Now you should have a big chunk of bark. Peel foil off of the bottom of the bark and break into uneven pieces.

This year was the 8th year that I organized my kitchen like I was managing a project!  Each year, I take my favorite candies for the holidays and spend an entire day making all of them.  I started this project on my own with three recipes in 2004 and added the kids the next year.  I used this to kick off my holiday spirit because at the time I was a single mom struggling to find a reason for the season, not to mention I didn’t have much money for gifts.  I began pouring my love into candy and started giving small gifts out to my friends.  It was such a huge hit that I began to get “dibs” called on my candy at Thanksgiving!  I try to add at least one new recipe each year (and I have only had to throw out a couple that weren’t big hits).

I would encourage you if you have ever thought of trying something like this, you should do it!  A few years into the process, I started putting people into teams and they would work on recipes together.  That was around 8-9 recipes and six years ago.  Then I moved into by invitation only with a set number of teams, working on 12-14 recipes for the day and I threw in dinner.  The only drawback became that if some of our friends didn’t get invited because we limited the number of people in the kitchen, then friends felt like they missed out on something really important.  This year I opened the kitchen up for the day between the hours of 9 am – 5 pm, still serving dinner at 5:30.  We made 19 different varieties of candies, still working in teams.  You were able to drop in when you could, make a few things and leave if you needed to.  This seemed to really work out and we had a total of ten adults cooking throughout the day.  It was really fun and if someone couldn’t make it, I didn’t feel guilty.  Of course everyone brings their own containers and gets to take some of everything home – the best part!!

The project management piece?  It was a lot to undertake: selecting one to two new recipes that was worth trying, going through all my recipes, organizing the ingredients and sorting out which ones I needed to purchase for the day.  After three stores and quite a bit of money later, the entire kitchen table was covered!  On the morning of the event, I got up extra early to sort all the ingredients into piles with the recipes for easy selection and making later.  I also, organized my candy list in order of cook times and set up times, starting with the candies that take the longest to get to the final product.  Of course, an additional trip to Wal-Mart happened since the night before they did not have all their Almond Bark out.  Note to yourself:  You CANNOT make candies without this Almond Bark.  I have tried almost every version of candy coating out there but this really is the best tasting for the recipes I use and it holds up well.

Ingredients Galore:

Now, I realize that by now you are dying to know what kinds of candies were on the list and how is it even possible to have 19 candies?  I’m going to give you the full candy list but I’m not going to share every single one of these recipes.  First, it is hard for me to part with some of my recipes that have “secret” ingredients (again if you know me, you aren’t surprised that I have secrets in my candy too).  Second, I need to have more blog material! HA!  A lot of my recipes have been handed down for many years, I have tweaked and made some adjustments I prefer or I have acquired them from really great friends.  Others I found through the internet (I added two new ones from Pinterest this year).

Candy List 2012

1. My Best Chocolate Fudge
2. White Fudge
3. Peanut Butter Fudge
4. Chocolate Mice
5. Easy Turtles (Much easier than original Turtles – but a huge hit with everyone)
6. Peppermint Bark
7. Buckeyes
8. Chocolate Covered Pretzel Rods (Easy but MUST be decorated)
9. Sugared Pecans
10. Crock Pot Candy
11. Peanut Brittle
12. Martha Washington Cremes (Thank You Jeanne!)
13. Reindeer Bites
14. Reindeer Balls (Peanut Butter Balls – Thanks to Garth Brooks) NEW
15. Dipped Marshmallows
16. Oreo Truffles
17. Oreo Pops
18. Peanut Butter Pretzel Bites NEW
19. No Bake Cookies (I only allow this type of cookie since they are easy and don’t require baking, all others are saved for another day)

Here are some of the recipes, enjoy and I hope you start your own tradition!

White Fudge

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 pounds premium white chocolate or confectioners’ coating
• 1 (14 oz.) can Eagle Brand® Sweetened Condensed Milk
•   Dash salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup chopped nuts

Directions:

• LINE an 8 or 9-inch square pan with wax paper, extending paper over edges of pan.
• MELT chocolate with sweetened condensed milk and salt in heavy saucepan, over low heat. Remove from heat; stir in vanilla and nuts. Spread evenly into prepared pan.
• CHILL 2 hours until firm. Remove from pan by lifting edges of wax paper. Cut into squares.

I found this by accident one year from Eagle Brand, feel free to click here to find it on their website and many other recipes.

Easy Turtles

Ingredients:

• 1 bag Square Waffle Pretzels
• 1 bag Rolos, unwrapped
• 1 lb Pecan Halves

Directions:

• Line cookie tray with parchment paper.
• Fill the tray with pretzels.
• Top pretzels with one Rolo, smallest side up.
• Bake in 275 degrees pre-heated oven for only 2-3 minutes.
• Remove and add a pecan halve to the top of each candy, just slightly pushing down.
• Cool completely for about 2 hours, then store in air tight container.

Peanut Butter Pretzel Bites

Courtesy of a blog What Megan’s Making found on Pinterest.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup creamy peanut butter
• 2 tablespoons softened butter
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• Holiday shaped Pretzels
• 1 bag semi-sweet chocolate chips (I replaced this and used my favorite Chocolate Almond Bark)

Directions:

Note: the picture with someone’s hands in it…those aren’t my hands, they’re my grandma’s. She was helping with the peppermint bark

Unfortunately, this will be an exception to the dairy free recipes I usually post on this blog. But I am pleased to report that it is gluten free. Although…you could make it dairy free if you use dairy free white chocolate chips (look on amazon.com) and dairy free chocolate chips. Chocolate Covered Katie has a recipe for dairy free white chocolate chips on her blog that’s healthier than what you would buy. Click here for the recipe.
My grandma, who is not a big fan of sweets, loves this peppermint bark!
This is not an original recipe, but was found on food.com.

Please read this post all the way through before attempting this peppermint bark, as we had a bit of trial and error.

That above, my friends, is what trial and error looks like. When we used to oven to melt the chocolate chips as suggested, it instead burnt them. So, we used the microwave and it turned out awesome.

It was smooth and normal when we used the microwave. Lesson: don’t use the oven to do the microwave’s job!

To read the recipe, click here.

Enjoy and happy holidays!

hey mates! hope all is well. wishing you a great weekend ahead, make sure to smile, cook something yummy + listen to some good tunes! cheers to the simple things in life! xxx

1. freshly baked bread from my mom
2. mom + dad’s tree
3. gorgeous sunset after the rain {oregon has the best sunsets i’ve discovered}
4. vintage toy soldier light {i collect these}
5. peppermint bark!!

This was after my full day of baking!!  I do this one day a year while I am still in Charleston and then the truly HUGE, 12 hour fiasco of baking will happen next Thursday when I get home with my mom and grandma.

I watched Elf (my absolute favorite), The Holiday and some of Love Actually while I worked.

I made…

Peppermint Bark

and

Spiced Sugar Cookies

and

Chocolate Chip Cookies

and

Buttermilk Cinnamon Chip Scones (same as choco chip recipe…cinnamon ones are so much better though)

and

with all of this…

I made these…

No recipe needed for these, just get the pretzel rods, chocolate and vanilla Candi Quik and your decorative ingredients and get creative.  They take a while, but are pretty fun and really pretty (and delicious when you are done).

So I would say that is a pretty successful day.  I only had half a cookie (one of the spiced ones, I had to see if my new creation was actually good).  I couldn’t believe myself, just being around all the goodies made me feel full, I even forgot to eat lunch which I promptly realized when I was about half way through my run.

I hope these recipes can give you a little holiday inspiration to do a little baking yourselves!  Don’t forget to keep those runs coming though so you can actually enjoy the fruits of your labor!

One gift I am having trouble with is a gift for my boss. This is my first year out of college and in the real world and I have been blessed with a great boss here in LA. He is fun, friendly, and super helpful when it comes to helping me break into the business here in LA.

The reason that I am having such a hard time figuring out what to get for him is because he has everything!! He is wealthy and found success at an early age. Therefor anything that he wants or needs he has or can afford… and I cannot.

In an attempt to be creative and thoughtful I have been trying to come up with items to put into a gift basket that won’t cost me a lot of money but will show that I put thought into it. So far my basket will include:

- Peppermint Bark

- Chocolate covered pretzels and pretzel bites

- Peanut Butter balls

- A Recipe Book (He loves to cook… trying to be creative here!)

That is all I have come up with so far…

I put my Sunday to good use this week while watching the Patriots! I baked… well not baked but made some treats for my boss. In my opinion they came out pretty well. To see individual treats I will include that in another post!

A collection of treats for my Boss this Christmas

I am glad that the holidays only come once a year 1. Because I can’t stop eating all of this food and 2. Because then I don’t have to think of another new and original gift for my boss for a whole year!

–P

1.  Prioritize activities and events. 

Gather the family together and get out your calendar.  Decide which events are on your “must do” list:  visits with family, religious observations, and school activities such as holiday recitals and concerts may be most important to you.  Then, look at the rest of your options.  If you discover, as we did, that you are invited to holiday parties three nights in a row, you may want to rethink your plans.    Ask your kids which events are really important to them.  You may be surprised to discover that rituals we take for granted, such as visiting Santa, may not matter to them, particularly as they get older.  This will free up some time for some much-needed R & R.

2.  Simplify your “to-do” list. 

• I’ve really pared down my holiday baking.  Try one of the “One Dough Makes Ten Cookies” recipes or organize a cookie exchange with your friends.  Keep it simple by sticking to your strengths.  I finally gave up on making candy from scratch – I’m just not good at anything that requires a thermometer.  Instead, we make peppermint bark by melting chocolate in the microwave, spreading it on a cookie sheet and sprinkling it with chopped up candy canes.  My kids absolutely love smashing the candy canes and have been demanding to know when we are making peppermint bark!
• I’ve also simplified my shopping – we live in a remote mountain location – so what I can’t buy locally I buy online and ship directly to long-distance family.  No more all-day trips to the outlet mall.
• I also don’t send hand-made cards anymore.  I like Smilebox for making a nice slide show e-card that can easily be emailed or shared on social media.

I know how strong the temptation is to make everything “perfect” for your family, but is it really worth it if you’re trying too hard and losing your holiday spirit?  As working moms, we have enough on our plates already.  Relax and enjoy yourself and your family will, too.

Are you getting sick of all this sugar yet? It makes me think of the quote from Dr. Seuss…

Except in my world everyone is an elf and eats candy canes and poops powdered sugar. Ha Ha!

Any-who, this year I was determined to send cookies to some of my husband’s customers. He’s asked me to do it for several years now, and I always said yes, but then never got to it. I love baking, but once I’m ASKED to do it, it becomes a job. I hate that, but it’s true. Because if I’m baking for fun, and something doesn’t turn out quite right, it’s no big deal. But when I’m giving cookies AWAY, they MUST be perfect.

And I really am OCD about cookies being fresh. If we aren’t going to eat them within 9.4 minutes of them coming out of the oven, I freeze them immediately. And if I send them to customers and they don’t eat them immediately, they might get stale, and then his customers will think I sent them stale cookies! AHHHHHHH – the humanity. No one should EVER eat stale cookies…at least, not in my world!

Apparently, however, I needn’t have worried. My husband even received an email shortly after dropping off the cookies to one customer and they said they were already gone! AND they requested the recipe for the Peppermint Cookie Bark. Win-win!!! 

I’ve seen variations of peppermint bark, but this one caught my attention because of the pretzels! A little salty with all that sweetness – GENIUS!

*Word on the street is that there are seasonal candy cane oreos, but I couldn’t find them. Mint oreos worked just fine, though.

Here’s my variation of the recipe:

Peppermint Cookie Bark

• 2 pounds of white almond bark or candy coating, melted (package directions)
• 1 cup of pretzel sticks
• 15 mint oreos, broken into pieces
• 8 candy canes, crushed

Scatter pretzels and oreos evenly on a parchment lined baking sheet. Pour melted chocolate over the pretzels and oreos and spread evenly. Sprinkle with crushed candy canes. Refrigerate about 20 minutes until set. Break into pieces. Store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

*Note: I didn’t actually measure the ingredients. You can use more or less. Just be sure to cover the sheet evenly without overcrowding. Too much and your bark won’t stick together. 

That’s a mountain of holiday cheer right there! 

Q&A for the Day: ( I welcome your comments)

• Do you give away holiday treats at Christmas?
  
• What’s your most requested Christmas recipe? (Share links!!!)

So here’s another holiday post from last year, an easy treat to whip up for all those teachers, co-workers, neighbors, friends and family in your life.  It’s super simple and super yummy.  I apologize for the icky photos though. 

I used to get really excited about baking for the holidays. I would try and make 3-4 different kinds of cookies and bring them to work and give them away as gifts. But since time is scarce these days, I’ve let go of my ambitious baking goals and I just made one treat.  While this recipe is pretty simple, I should add that the total time it takes to make is quite long, but only because of the chill time required for each layer.  I like it because I can work on other projects (or cleaning the mess) while the chocolate is chilling.

Anyways, here’s what you’ll need to make some delicious peppermint bark:

White chocolate (2 bags), dark chocolate (1 bag), candy canes, heavy cream, peppermint extract.

1. Break candy canes into small pieces (I used the bottom of a glass bottle).

2. Line a baking sheet or glass dish with foil or parchment paper (I used a 9×13 dish, but I wish I had used something larger so the layers were thinner).

3. Melt one bag of white chocolate chips using the double boiler technique.

4. Spread half of the white chocolate onto the lined pan and sprinkle with some of the candy cane pieces. Refrigerate for about 15 minutes.

5. Melt dark chocolate in a pot with 6 tablespoons of heavy cream and a teaspoon of peppermint extract.

6. Spread all of the dark chocolate over the first layer and sprinkle with some candy cane pieces. Refrigerate for 30 minutes (this layer took awhile to harden).

7. Melt the second bag of white chocolate chips and spread over the last layer. Sprinkle more candy cane pieces on top and refrigerate again for 30-45 minutes.

8. Make sure the bark is thoroughly chilled and hardened before cutting. The first time I tried to cut mine, the dark chocolate layer was still a little soft, so the bark started coming apart in pieces. I threw it back in the refrigerator for awhile and the second time it cut much better. Remove bark from pan and foil and cut into small pieces.

9. Enjoy!! These taste best when they are fresh, so give them away/devour them immediately (don’t worry, it won’t be difficult).

As if the bark wasn’t enough of a treat, I made myself a little peppermint hot cocoa with leftover stuff to reward myself for all my hard work.

After cutting apart all that bark, I was left with lots of chocolate and peppermint shavings and pieces on my cutting board. I also didn’t use all the candy cane that I had crushed, so I had a stroke of genius!

I swear, this hot cocoa was so rich and creamy, it was like something from Starbucks, but even better!

I just threw some of the bark shavings into the bottom of the cup with the hot cocoa powder and added hot water. Make sure to stir it well so the chocolate and candy pieces melt. I rolled a marshmallow in the candy cane pieces and threw it on top! If I hadn’t been so tired, I could have whipped up some of that leftover whipping cream too, but that would have been tooooo indulgent

I know that making hot cocoa mixes is a popular gift idea around the winter time and if you pretty this up a little, it could be a great variation!

Any holiday baking for you?

Here’s to a delicious holiday season!!

What could be more traditional than using peppermint around the holidays?  I had a bag of red vanilla chips lying around and I decided to make some Peppermint bark.  It’s a great treat to set on the table when guests come over.  A lot of peppermint bark is made with white chocolate, but I figured the red vanilla would be fun and festive.  All you do is take a bowl that will nicely fit over a small pot.  Add some water in the pot then place bowl on top with vanilla chips.  Begin to stir and when chocolate is melted add your desired filling which in this case would be ground up Peppermint Candy Canes.  Mix and spread out on parchment paper on top of a cooking sheet.  Place in refrigerator for about an hour or so then take out and break into pieces and enjoy.

PEPPERMINT BARK

• 12 peppermint candy canes (6oz)
• 2 lbs white chocolate
• 1 tablespoon peppermint extract

Cover a cookie sheet with parchment or wax paper.

In a food processor coarsely chop (by pulsing) the candy canes.  In the meantime, in a double boiler melt the chocolate until smooth and glossy.  Off heat mix the chopped candy canes and the peppermint extract.

Quickly pour the mixture on the cookie sheet spreading the chocolate to cover the paper.

Let sit in the refrigerator or in a very cold room for 30 minutes or until set.

When ready…cut, break, share, give, eat.

NOTE: to all my peppermint bark recipients: don’t worry ! Posting the recipe does not mean I will stop making and giving the bark during the holiday season.

From my kitchen to yours

CK, la fille du boucher