Peppermint Bark

Friday, November 11            Peppermint Bark

https://family.go.com/food/recipe-an-798914-peppermint-bark-t/

 

            So I know I said I was going to do Fleur De Sal Caramels today, but it’s almost 9pm and I spent the day out with my parents. So I’m feeling lazy (don’t worry they will be made this weekend!). Instead I wanted a candy recipe that seemed to be completed fairly quickly. My mother was extremely excited to find out there are recipes for Peppermint Bark (her favorite) and I thought that would be a great idea for today! This is a candy that is readily available everywhere. Almost all the big chocolate companies make it (Lindt, Giradelli, Hershey, Cadbury, etc). But many times it’s made only with white or dark chocolate. Well I’m not a dark chocolate fan so I’m hoping to make this with milk chocolate. There are also a million recipes that all essentially follow the same instructions with the option to do this in the microwave! I am going to try to layer it like this recipe here Joy of Baking but use the basics from here Food Network no matter what though out of all the recipes I found they are essentially the same. For directions I really enjoyed the one I post at the beginning of this blog. So here it goes.

Ingredients:

• 1 package white chocolate chips, good-quality (I used Ghirardelli, $3.29)
• 1 package semi-sweet chocolate chips, good-quality ($3.29)
• 2 teaspoon vegetable oil*
• 2 teaspoons peppermint extract ($3.99 for a whole bottle)
• 4  regular sized candy canes ($1.99 for a twelve)

 

Tools:

• Double Boiler (or a metal bowl to sit on top of a sauce pan)
• Spatula
• Cookie Sheet
• Tin Foil
• Baseball bat?...okay I used a rolling pin

Directions:

Line the bottom and sides of a baking sheet with aluminum foil (I sprayed it with some “Pam” first just in case), smoothing out any wrinkles.

Put all the unwrapped candy canes in a large ziplock bag and seal.

Place it on a dish towel on a flat stable surface and crush with rolling pin (baseball bat, or hammer).

Melt the semi sweet chocolate and 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil in a heatproof bowl placed over a saucepan of simmering water. After it melts stir in 1 tsp. of mint extract.



Immediately pour the melted chocolate into the prepared pan and tilt the pan so the chocolate makes an even layer.

Place in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes, or until the chocolate has set. (I’m kind of anxious so I rushed the process and threw it in the freezer for 15 minutes, worked just as well!)

Then, melt the white chocolate and remaining 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil and mint extract in a heatproof bowl placed over a saucepan of simmering water.

Immediately pour the melted white chocolate over the dark chocolate and tilt the pan so the chocolate is in an even layer.

 

Sprinkle the crushed candy canes evenly over the white chocolate. (Be sure to press the pieces down with your spatula so that they stick)

Place in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes, or until the chocolate has set.

Remove the Peppermint Bark from the pan by lifting the edges of the aluminum foil. Peel back the foil and break the bark into small irregular pieces.

Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.

Note however that since the chocolate isn’t tempered it should be stored in the fridge oppose to candy you buy in the store it will melt and may not reform if left on the counter.

Joy of Baking website has a wealth of knowledge on it and I highly suggest it. I took this from their website:

The difference between commercially made Peppermint Bark and homemade is how the chocolate is handled. Commercially made Peppermint Bark uses tempered chocolate which keeps the chocolate shiny and hard, even when stored at room temperature. Since most of us are a little hesitant about tempering, this recipe omits that step. Instead, a little vegetable oil is added to the melted chocolate which will keep it nice and shiny, and it will still have that wonderful 'snap' when you break it into pieces. The only difference is that since the chocolate isn't tempered, homemade Peppermint Bark needs to be stored in the refrigerator.

This was extremely easy to make and I highly recommend it to anyone! Even if you can only cook the basics this is one of those that makes people happy. Kids can most definitely help with this one with minimal risks of getting burned or hurt (unless they chase each other around with the rolling pin….which your wife might do to you too! haha) I also loved this because clean up was so incredibly easy and I didn't need to mess around with a candy thermometer!

Total Cost: Approximately $12.60 (* means I already had it at home)

Total Time: 15 minutes to make but about 30 minutes for the candy to set before eating