Peppermint Bark Hot Chocolate
Peppermint Bark Hot Chocolate is an easy way to put a homemade spin on your favorite hot chocolate mix and the best peppermint bark!
This post is sponsored by Mirum Shopper
Let’s talk real life right now.
After I had Joseph, I always commented about how I must have wasted so much time before having him because afterward, the days would just melt into one another and I had no clue where the time went. Well, that feeling has grown exponentially since Dominic was born… between a toddler and a newborn, I rarely sit down to eat, am increasingly forgetful, and by the end of the day feel like I have done both a million things and nothing at all. Is that possible?
I’ve made a couple of recipes in the last couple of months, but really haven’t jumped back into the kitchen yet. While I sometimes get frustrated, I am trying really hard to give myself grace and just enjoy this season of life that I’m in right now. That means not putting an immense amount of pressure on myself to do things that are unrealistic.
Which brings us to today’s recipe… a “semi-homemade” hot chocolate that is just perfect for the colder weather that has stormed through our area in the last week.
When it comes to hot chocolate, I am really not very particular… while I love, love, LOVE my homemade Italian hot chocolate (it’s crazy thick and extremely decadent – special occasion hot chocolate, for sure), on any given night I am perfectly happy to rip open a packet of hot cocoa mix and add hot water or milk.
Sometimes, though, you just want a little something extra (or maybe you want to put together an easy hot chocolate bar for a party!)… this is where the peppermint bark comes in! Every year, I whip up a batch of my favorite peppermint bark during the first weekend of December so I can nibble on it all month long. Whether you use your favorite recipe or store-bought peppermint bark – go ahead and drop a square right into the piping hot drink and stir until it dissolves.
The result? The melted chocolate adds a richness to the hot chocolate and the crushed candy canes gives it a kick of peppermint that just warms the soul this time of year.
I just adore this idea, and it would be so easy to do it with any other candy that you love – caramels, chocolate bars, truffles – anything that’s melty and delicious! If you’re having friends over or are craving something different, it’s an easy way to jazz up regular ol’ hot chocolate.
BONUS! Serve the hot chocolate alongside your favorite pie! (Featured: Marie Callender’s Dutch Apple Pie)
Less time toiling away in the kitchen right now means more time for fun shenanigans with Joseph and infant snuggles with Dominic; I’ll take that trade any day of the week.
One year ago: Cinnamon-Sugar Candied Chex Mix with Pecans and Pretzels
Five years ago: Lofthouse Style Frosted Sugar Cookies
Six years ago: Chocolate Walnut Fudge
Peppermint Bark Hot Chocolate
Ingredients
- 1 packet Swiss Miss Hot Cocoa Mix
- Peppermint Bark, homemade or store-bought
- Reddi-wip whipped cream topping
- Chocolate syrup
- Crushed candy canes
Instructions
- Prepare the hot chocolate according to the package instructions. While still hot, add a piece of peppermint bark and stir to dissolve.
- Top with whipped cream, drizzle with chocolate syrup and sprinkle with crushed candy canes.
Notes
Did you make this recipe?
Leave a review below, then snap a picture and tag @thebrowneyedbaker on Instagram so I can see it!
Want more semi-homemade dessert ideas? Head over to the Taste of Homemade site, where there are tons of ideas for using Marie Callender pies, Reddi-wip and Swiss Miss hot cocoa mix to make hassle-free holiday desserts. You can pick up all of those products at your local Walmart.
Thank you to Mirum Shopper for sponsoring this post! Opinions are 100% my own.
The days ARE busy and exhausting with little ones, but full of priceless rewards. Take it easy and try not to stress. Your family is your most important project right now. :) Tanks for the great cocoa idea! Â I can’t wait to try it out.Â
Looks so delicious!!! This is lovely, I should try it out!
For what it’s worth – before I had my second baby I somehow (and erroneously) thought that it wouldn’t seem like two, it would seem like one and a half (I know – what was I thinking!). I think it was because I already had one small child, so I was used to the “disruption” and all the extra duties. Anyway, after I actually had the two I thought “this seems more like 3!” Shortly after thinking that I was reading the paper and there was a column about mothers and children and the writer confirmed my thinking – it was like 3! Give yourself a break and enjoy the time and whatever you can accomplish. This too shall pass and looking back, it seems like it passed in an instant (I know when you’re in the middle of it, it doesn’t seem that way). The most important thing is doing your best for your little boys and your family – forget the rest.
Your first paragraph pretty much sums up motherhood. Â I just sent my youngest off to college this fall and I still feel that way. Â Do what works for you and your family
There is no recipe to view – would love to be able to try this out!
I love this post! First of all peppermint bark in the hot chocolate = brilliant! Definitely going on my list. What I love most is that you are taking this precious time for you and your family. It’s so important! Take the time you need, we’ll all still be here!
Hi Michelle,
Nothing wrong with your priorities at all! My “baby” just turned 23 last week and I still feel the “days have melted into one another” ?, but  don’f regret one second that I spent at home slowing life down with my kids, from hetting them i. the kitchen early and often with me to homeschooling them. I feel extremely blessed to have gone from the house of craziness in the baby/toddler stage to sharing life now with three of my very best friends! Keep it up, Michelle! You’re doing a great job.?
*don’t
*getting them in the kitchen
Yikes!?
Michelle, my baby is turning 11 tomorrow. 11! I’d return to baby days in a minute. You just continue to relish life with your little ones. :) Your priorities are perfect!
I’m thrilled you’ve posted this. Having a bit of a sick in the stomach feeling in the 1st trimester and I’m trying to settle my stomach. Peppermint does the trick for sure, so peppermint it is. And I’ve been craving hot chocolate. So odd to me when I should be eating super healthy that my body says it “hates green veggies” Love your pic, beautiful =)Â
The finished product is beautiful with the chocolate drizzle and crushed candy canes sprinkled over the whipped cream. Â So very seasonal!
 You will NEVER regret the time you chose to spend with your boys over working in the kitchen.  This time will become more precious to you as the years quickly roll on.  There is so much that goes into raising children and to raise them well requires time . . . time to teach, time to be together, time to read to them, time to play – teaching them to play – time to discipline, time to talk, time to just simply watch them, time to teach them to play on their own because you don’t want to raise narcissistic children, and most of all time to pray for them.  Parenting is a big sacrifice.  So, don’t feel guilty about sacrificing time in the kitchen to be raising your precious boys.  The one thing that will stand out to your boys once they are grown is that mommy (and daddy, don’t want to leave him out!)  was there for them.  Thanks for the great hot chocolate ideas – a hot chocolate bar is one of them!
Love this post. You’re only one person (can’t stretch yourself too thin) and your little ones will remember their time spent with you, not if they’re food is 100% from scratch all of the time. Keep up the good work mama. :)
*their food (not they’re) :)
Hey, you are “making” memories” . The kitchen can wait and on here there is plenty to revisit.