I made peppermint bark for the first time last Christmas and I found it so easy yet such a luxurious-looking treat that I decided I would make it once again for the gifts I am giving to some friends and family. I do not include any peppermint oil or extract in mine, as I like the mint flavor that comes from the crushed candy canes, however you could certainly add it if you want more of a peppermint punch! I’ve also found that trying to actually “cut” the bark doesn’t work so well – a better method is to merely take the tip of a sharp knife and insert it into the bark and apply some pressure, which will start the bark breaking into pieces.
Peppermint Bark
1 lb. dark chocolate (I used 1/2 semisweet and 1/2 bittersweet)
1 lb. white chocolate
6 oz. (1 regular package) candy canes, crushed
1. Melt the dark chocolate over a double boiler until smooth. Spread (with an offset spatula) in an even layer on a wax paper-lined baking sheet. Place in freezer to harden, approximately 30 minutes.
2. Melt the white chocolate over a double boiler until smooth. Spread (with an offset spatula) on top of the dark chocolate layer. Working quickly before the white chocolate sets, sprinkle the crushed candy canes on top and gently press into the chocolate. Refrigerate until complete hard and set, at least 2 hours.
3. Break into pieces and enjoy!
Tags: Candy, Chocolate, Peppermint, white chocolate
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Wow your bark came out MUCH prettier than mine! Nice job!
I made this and added a pretzel layer underneath as well – was a huge hit!
so pretty! i was planning on making chocolate/peanut bark today, but this looks so festive. i might just have to pick up some candy canes and give this one a shot! yummm!
your peppermint bark is beautiful!
With white and dark chocolate, who can resist?
I love the two colors of chocolate together with the peppermint pieces on top. It looks so perfect and professional.
Mmmm…. I’m just now whipping up a batch of these and my apartment smells great. While getting chocolate blocks at the grocery I noticed butterscotch ones as well. I think I’ll try making a pumpkin batch – first layer of butterscotch, topped with a caramel drizzle, and some kind of pumpkin candy…. now just to figure out the candy! Thanks for the spectacular post!
HANNAH–Oh I hope you enjoy it! I love this stuff, I go nuts on it at Christmas! Your pumpkin variation sounds just fantastic, I’d love to see if/when you do it!
I tried the recipe and the dark and white chocolate layers didn’t stick to each other, so when I broke it apart the layers seperated, any suggestions?
mine did this too!
I’ve wanted to try this since I stumbled on your blog several weeks ago. I figured that since tomorrow is December 1, tonight would be a great night to try it out! Here’s a picture of the finished product:
http://i38.tinypic.com/juk6d1.jpg
I think it came out beautifully! I’ve seen other barks in stores and online that are solid white chocolate with candy cane mixed in… nowhere near as pretty or festive, in my opinion. I can’t wait to take this in to work tomorrow for everyone to enjoy! Thanks for such a simple and wonderful idea/recipe! Happy holidays!!
Looks delicious. I LOVE peppermint bark and it is so expensive to purchase so making it is a great option. If you are looking for a new way to use the bark try it in place of chocolate chips in a chocolate chip cookie recipe. Check out the one on my blog: http://hiphostess.wordpress.com/2008/12/23/peppermint-bark-chocolate-chip-cookies/
Thanks for the post!
I made this yesterday, and while it is wonderfully delicious, the layers did not stay together at all. Any tips? thanks for the terrific idea!
Hi Laurel – Hmmm, that’s odd that the layers didn’t stay together. I’ve made this recipe countless times, and that has never happened. Did you do anything differently by chance?
my layers separated too! so sad
I had an issue with the layers separating when I made my first pan last year.
I had the dark chocolate in the freezer to set-up and took it out only right before I needed it to spread the white chocolate. It was rock hard, super cold and didn’t melt at all when I started to pour the white chocolate on to spread…
After that first pan, I started letting the dark chocolate sit on the counter at room temp as I melted the white chocolate. It wasn’t nearly as rock-hard or cold when it came time to spread the white chocolate on top.
I don’t know if that really helped or not, but it seemed like the bottom (dark chocolate) layer “fused” better with the top (white chocolate) layer when it had a chance to “warm up” a little bit.
Hi Tiffany,
I am so sorry to hear that your layers separated! I just made two batches of bark in the last week and didn’t have any issues. Since others have mentioned it, you may want to try setting the chocolate layer in the refrigerator instead of the freezer or letting it sit out for a bit before pouring on the white chocolate layer. Please let me know if you try it again – I hope you have better luck!
Another good way to break it is to slam the pan on the counter. I usually start with that and then stab it with a knife to get the breaking started for smaller pieces. It sounds violent, but it works really well.
I’ve also done it where I put foil down on the pan before adding the first layer of chocolate…that way I can just pick up the foil and slam that on the counter instead.
Lindsay, I also sometimes “stab” the bark with the tip of a sharp chef’s knife to get it to break into shards. I like the look of randomly-shaped pieces
Hi Guys! I made the peppermint bark yesterday but when I go to cut it … the dark chocolate layer didn’t stick to the white. Any ideas? Did I keep the dark layer in the freezer for too long? Too thick of a layer of white? Wrong chocolate?
Help!
-Steph
Hi Steph, I have never had the chocolate separate on me (and I’ve made this countless times) but some other readers have mentioned a similar problem. Maybe try popping the first layer in the refrigerator (instead of the freezer) for about 15 minutes to set and then pouring the white layer on top.
Michelle, I love peppermint bark and look forward to making it myself!
I read the comments about the layers separating and wonder if the white chocolate brand has anything to do with this. Will you share with us which brand of white chocolate you use?
Thanks in advance!
Hi Kathleen, Sure! I’ve always used Ghiradelli chocolate (both the dark and white) for my peppermint bark. I buy the baking bars, not the chips.
Thanks for everyone’s help! I do think my problem was I didn’t let the chocolate sit, once taken out of the freezer. I am going to try again this week. I’ll let you guys know how it goes.
I had the same issue with the layers separating, so I’m going to try again, this time letting the dark chocolate come to room temperature first. I used the candy melts for my white chocolate since I dont have a double boiler and have to microwave my chocolate – for the white chocolate they just melt easier that way. Maybe that is the problem?
Turned out perfect! I will never buy peppermint bark again. Thanks!
This is great, thanks! I had the opposite problem to those with separating layers. My white chocolate was a little too hot and melted the dark chocolate a bit when I poured it on top. For the second batch, I let the white chocolate sit for a few minutes off the oven to cool off a bit.
I also don’t have a double boiler – I just used two pans inside each other, works great.
I made this last night and while it tastes good, your peppermint bark looks so much better than mine. I used Ghirardelli white chocolate chips in a double boiler and while the consistency was smooth it was thicker than the bittersweet/semisweet layer. I went ahead with it any way but was wondering if I should have added a few drops of oil to it to thin it out. Do you think that might have helped? I know you have to work quickly because too much spreading around causes the chocolate layer to melt and show through. Also this might be a dumb question: How did you crush your candy canes? I used my food processor but I think I might have over processed them a little too much. Any guidance you can give would be appreciated.
Hi Lori, I never add any oil. I do find that the white chocolate cools and gets thicker faster than regular chocolate, so working quickly is key. I put my candy canes in a gallon-size ziploc bag and roll over it with a rolling pin to crush them
I made this TWICE this Christmas! I added a teaspoon of peppermint extract to the dark chocolate when it was melting, and the result was ABSOLUTELY delicious. I would recommend that you try it!! I also layered coarsely crushed up peppermints between the chocolate and white layers, in addition to the sprinkling on top of the white layer. It resulted in beautifully layered pieces!!
I tried this receipe but used rum extract and cherry candies instead of peppermint. Tastes like a choclate covered cherry. Delicious!
I was wondering, instead of pouring everything into a sheet, could I pour them into cookie cutters for decoration? Would that work, or would they stick?
Hi Angie, That sounds like such a cute idea! I would probably put down a sheet of parchment, then spray the insides of your cookie cutters, and pour the chocolate in. I think you would be okay doing it that way.
I have a question, I made the bark today but when I went to break it apart the white layer completely separated from the dark. Any idea how to prevent this? Id like to use this recipe for Christmas presents this year!
Hi Wendie, A number of people have mentioned this as a problem, but I’ve never experienced it. I would try putting the dark chocolate layer in the fridge for just 15 minutes or so, and then pour the white on, this might keep it from getting too hard and separating.
This bark looks wonderful. I was wondering what size cookie sheet do you use?
Hi Carla, I think my cookie sheet is something like 10×15, although I don’t spread the chocolate over the entire sheet, I keep a good border around the edges so the chocolate doesn’t melt off the sides
I too had the problem of the layers separating. I used Ghirardelli white chocolate chips and Bakers Dark Chocolate. I did have a thinner layer of dark chocolate than the white, maybe that was the issue. I let the dark chocolate sit on the counter for about 15 minutes, then put it in the fridge for another 15 before adding the white on top.
I am going to try this again with blocks of chocolate that I bought from whole foods after this batch is gone.
Does adding oil help these fuse together?
Hi GM, I have never added oil, so I’m not sure what this would do, although I feel like it would cause the chocolate to separate, not fuse. I still haven’t had this separation problem after almost 7 years of making it. Instead of using chips, I would recommend actual chocolate bars (Ghiradelli sells them in 4 oz sizes), they may melt and fuse together better.
I had this separation issue when I 1st tried this, did some research on the internet and found out a couple of things – the chocolate layer should just be cool not cold, you barely want it set up. White chocolate in particular is pretty finicky so dont use chips use bars, my white chocolate chips seized up on me and were useless now I use bars and it works much better. I can still use chips for my dark layer. Peppermint oil works great use it in the dark chocolate layer. Good luck! Im still working to perfect this but after reading several blogs and cooking answers on this question, its a common issue when making bark!
I really would consider myself a great cook and baker but this bark has me completely frustrated. I have made 4 batches of this bark with different variations and recipes from the internet. The taste is unmatchable ….the process frustrating. MY bark always separates. I just read through all the comments. I am going to try a quick refrigeration of the white and then put chocolate on pull it out and score it and then use only the knife to break apart. I use Ghiradelli etc..but still having issues Michelle…I feel like such an amatuer w/ this bark
Why can’t it just “work”
I just glued a batch together…ugh….. trying again in about an hour. Montra…never give up….lol
I am convinced that the problem is the ghiradeli white chocolate causing the separation. Will be testing this tomorrow.
Confirmed, changing from Ghiradeli white chips to a higher quality chocolate fixed the problem with the white and dark chocolate separating when cut. Just made a new batch and it came out great! Let it cool at room temperature also, didn’t use the refrigerator at all.
I actually mentioned above that I don’t use the white chips, only the baking bar. The properties do seem to be different.
Hi GM,
Can you give me a specific brand to buy for both the white and dark? I live in the Pittsburgh PA area — I have access to most brands being in a larger metro area.
Happy Holidays
The brand of chocolate I like is “Callebaut”. I believe it’s a fair trade Belgian chocolate. If you have any “Whole Foods” stores where you live, they should have it. You can probably google it too and find it close to you. Good luck!
Hi Dena, I live in Pittsburgh as well, and always use Ghiradelli baking bars for this peppermint bark. It’s readily available at Giant Eagle.
Hi Michelle,
Thanks so much for the info. I used the Ghiradelli chips for the chocolate and the Ghiradelli candy making dipping bar for the white portion. I am going to try the regular baking bar for both portions before trying the candy dipping bar. I swear I’ve gained 15 lbs making candy and cookies this year so maybe I should just hold off until Valentine’s Day before giving it a “retry”…lol Thanks again.
I don’t have a double boiler. Can I microwave the chocolate?
Yes, definitely. Just microwave on 50% power in 30-second increments, stirring after each, until it’s completely melted and smooth.