So I made Peppermint Bark, ok sure the recipe calls it Holiday Bark, but let's be honest it has peppermint flavoring and it is candy so technically it is Peppermint Bark. And in my humble opinion, Peppermint Bark is a hell of a lot more descriptive than "Holiday Bark." Now if any of you were wondering how candy bark got it's name, let me help. Bark, in general, is a form of candy that is made in flat sheets, and supposedly in someones mind when the candy was broken up it resembled small chunks of bark, hence the name. Ok sure I am with you, in my estimation, this does not look much like bark, but hell it is tradition now so I am just going to go with it. I, for one, have never seen bark that was black and white and had red/white dots on it, but maybe I just haven't seen bark with the measles (joking).



Now this bark is super easy and it looks extremely festive. And I will be honest I was concerned because the peppermint extract smelled completely overpowering and I was afraid that my "Holiday Bark," was going to taste like Scope mouthwash. Did anyone else put extracts in their sodas at high school football games because it was easier to get a hold of than alcohol? Mom, ear muffs XOXO!

However, thankfully I was wrong and this bark has great flavor. It is pepperminty, but it is complimented by the flavors of the dark and white chocolate and it is really good! I was also a little concerned because it was pretty dang hard to break the bark into "bark" sized pieces so I had visions of chipped teeth and bark injuries, but it actually is way easier to eat, especially in comparison to breaking it into bits.

So first of all take a package of dark chocolate chips (friggin love dark chocolate chips)...it seriously takes a ton of willpower for me to bake with them instead of eat them. Melt in a microwave for 1 1/2-2 minutes. The recipe says 3 minutes, but at least in my microwave they would be charred.


Add 1T of vegetable oil and 1 tsp peppermint extract in a small bowl. Add half the peppermint mixture to the dark chocolate and combine.

Spread the chocolate mixture into a 9x13 pan that is covered in foil and sprayed with cooking spray. Let chill for 1 hour.

Melt 8 oz of a white chocolate bar, broken into pieces, in the microwave. The recipe says 2 minutes, but I found that 1 1/2 minutes was a bit more accurate. I also stopped it at 30 second intervals to check on it and stir it.

Spread the white chocolate layer over the dark chocolate.

Sprinkle with 1/2 cup peppermint starlight mints that have been crushed. If you are unfamiliar with starlight mints they are the mints that every restaurant gives out with your bill. So if you are super desperate for mints just start collecting them at restaurants...joking...they are cheap...and actually I have extras so just hit me up. Also sprinkle the bark with 4 oz of another white chocolate bar that has been chopped up.

I found it to be beneficial to kind of press the white chocolate and peppermint candy pieces, otherwise they just fall off when you are breaking the candy into "bark". Chill for 2 more hours before breaking it into bark.

Now I have to just tell a brief little personal story about my measuring cup. I moved out right after high school, one of those who just couldn't wait to spread my wings. And my uncle gave me this glass measuring cup as a birthday/moving present. To this day I still have that measuring cup and it is one of my prized possessions. It has been through countless houses, relationships, meals, cooking experiments and baking catastrophes with me. And although I have had other measuring cups that have come and gone this one has been my constant. So thank you HR for my measuring cup and cheers to all of the memories that I have created with this measuring cup and the future adventures we will have together.