Looking for a sweet holiday treat to give that won’t take all day? This homemade peppermint bark is easy to make and the perfect holiday gift!

It’s Christmas week and if you’re anything like me, you’ve got a billion things left to do before the big holiday weekend. Because I want to be sure to have enough time to enjoy this special time with my family, my posting will probably be on the light side through the end of the year. However, I thought I’d start off your week with a fun and tasty little DiY project.

No party is complete without a sweet little trinket your guests can take home, enjoy, and remember (hopefully) the wonderful time they had. For my little candy-cane themed shindig yesterday, I made peppermint bark favors. ( Savings tip:Chocolate chips are an excellent item to stock up on when they are on sale!) It amazes me that they sell this stuff for $30 a box at specialty stores when it is SO easy and so inexpensive to make! Packaged up nicely in cellophane bags, it makes a lovely (and much appreciated) gift.

Homemade Peppermint Bark

Here is what you need:

25 unwrapped Candy Canes
2 12oz. bags Milk Chocolate chips
2 11.5 oz. bags Semi Sweet Chunks
4 12. oz. bags White Chocolate chips
 1/4 tsp Peppermint Vitality Essential Oil or 1 tsp peppermint extract (optional)
Unwrapped pile of candy canes. Candy cane plastic wrappers in a pile.
Step 1: Start by unwrapping a pile of candy canes then place them in a large ziplock bag.
Crush up candy canes in a bowl.
Step 2: Put that ziplock bag within a second ziplock bag (broken candy canes are sharp), then break the candy canes into small pieces. I used a rolling pin to smash them.

Cover cookie sheets with aluminum foil. Warm crushed candy canes in a glass bowl over a boiling pot of water.

Step 3: Cover 3 cookie sheets (for a large batch) with non-stick foil or wax paper. Boil water in a double boiler. Since I don’t have a double boiler, I used a bowl over a saucepan, which worked just as well. Fill the water to just below the bowl, but not touching the bowl.

Chocolate chunks in large glass bowl. Begin melting and stirring chocolate chunks in large glass bowl.
Slowly melt chocolate chips over low heat on the stove.

Step 4: Slowly melt the chocolate chips, stirring frequently. I discovered it works better to mostly melt one bag before adding the next bag, rather than dumping them in all at once.

Spread melted chocolate evenly onto cookie sheet.
Transfer melted chocolate to cookie sheet using a plastic spatula.

Step 5: Spread out the chocolate on the foil covered cookie sheets. It should be fairly thin, approximately 1/8″ thick. Place cookie sheets in the fridge to harden for about a half-hour.

Transfer white chocolate chunks to large glass bowl and stir with plastic spatula. Slowly melt white chocolate chips and stir.

Step 6: While the chocolate layer is cooling, rinse your bowl or double boiler pan and repeat the melting process with the white chocolate chips. If desired, add 1/4 tsp Peppermint Vitality Essential Oil or 1 tsp peppermint extract to the melted white chocolate for extra pepper-minty flavor.

Spread melted white chocolate onto cookie sheet and top with crushed candy canes.

Step 7: Spread out the melted white chocolate in a layer over top of the brown chocolate. While it is still wet, quickly sprinkle on the broken candy cane pieces. Place in the refrigerator to harden completely, about an hour.

Allow chocolate mixtures to harden and break into peppermint bark pieces. Transfer finished peppermint bark into small plastic bags.
Step 8: Once the bark has hardened, break into pieces by hand, then place into cellophane bags. (This recipe filled 20 bags.)
Using small pieces of festive paper and a stapler, assemble mini notes for bags of peppermint bark.
Seal plastic bag of peppermint bark and fold over. Staple mini paper note to plastic bag.

Step 9: To seal the bags, cut pieces of holiday scrapbook paper into 4×4″ squares, then fold the squares in half. Fold over the tops of the cellophane bags a couple of times, then staple the scrapbook paper over the fold. If desired, print labels to glue onto the scrapbook paper.

Assemble all finished peppermint bark bags into a pile.

The whole project took me about 3 hours from start to finish. I already had the foil, chocolate, peppermint extract, cellophane bags, & scrapbook paper on hand, so my only real expense for the project was the $1.67 I spent for a large box of candy canes.

 

Looking for a sweet holiday treat to give that won't take all day? This homemade peppermint bark is easy to make and the perfect holiday gift!
Print

Homemade Peppermint Bark

Looking for a sweet holiday treat to give that won't take all day? This homemade peppermint bark is easy to make and the perfect holiday gift!

Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Cooling time 1 hour 30 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes
Servings 20 bags

Ingredients

  • 25 unwrapped Candy Canes
  • 2 12 oz. bags Milk Chocolate Chips
  • 2 11.5 oz. bags Semi Sweet Chunks
  • 4 12 oz. bags White Chocolate Chips
  • 1/4 tsp Peppermint Vitality Essential Oil or 1 tsp peppermint extract (optional)

Instructions

  1. Start by unwrapping a pile of candy canes, then place them in a large ziplock bag.

  2. Put that ziplock bag within a second ziplock bag (broken candy canes are sharp), then break the candy canes into small pieces. I used a rolling pin to smash them.

  3. Cover 3 cookie sheets (for a large batch) with non-stick foil or wax paper. Boil water in a double boiler. Since I don't have a double boiler, I used a bowl over a saucepan, which worked just as well. Fill the water to just below the bowl, but not touching the bowl.

  4. Slowly melt the chocolate chips, stirring frequently. I discovered it works better to mostly melt one bag before adding the next bag, rather than dumping them in all at once.

  5. Spread out the chocolate on the foil covered cookie sheets. It should be fairly thin, approximately 1/8" thick. Place cookie sheets in the fridge to harden for about a half-hour.

  6. While the chocolate layer is cooling, rinse your bowl or double boiler pan and repeat the melting process with the white chocolate chips. If desired, add 1/4 tsp Peppermint Vitality Essential Oil or 1 tsp peppermint extract to the melted white chocolate for extra pepper-minty flavor.

  7. Spread out the melted white chocolate in a layer over top of the brown chocolate. While it is still wet, quickly sprinkle on the broken candy cane pieces. Place in the refrigerator to harden completely, about an hour.

  8. Once the bark has hardened, break into pieces by hand, then place into cellophane bags.

  9. To seal the bags, cut pieces of holiday scrapbook paper into 4x4" squares, then fold the squares in half. Fold over the tops of the cellophane bags a couple of times, then staple the scrapbook paper over the fold. If desired, print labels to glue onto the scrapbook paper.

What are your favorite holiday treats?

Other homemade dessert recipes you’d love:

 

PIN FOR LATER:Looking for a sweet holiday treat to give that won't take all day? This homemade peppermint bark is easy to make and the perfect holiday gift!

Ruth Soukup

Ruth Soukup

Founder at Living Well Spending Less
Ruth Soukup is dedicated to helping people everywhere create a life they love by follwing their dreams and achieving their biggest goals. She is the host of the wildly popular Do It Scared podcast, as well as the founder of Living Well Spending Less® and Elite Blog Academy®. She is also the New York Times bestselling author of six books, including Do It Scared®: Finding the Courage to Face Your Fears, Overcome Obstacles, and Create a Life You Love, which was the inspiration for this book. She lives in Florida with her husband Chuck, and 2 daughters Maggie & Annie.
Ruth Soukup

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