Peppermint Bark

What better way to get rid of all the left over candy canes from Christmas than to make peppermint bark? There is no better way! So here is my delicious recipe for candy cane peppermint bark.

Ingredients:
4-5 Candy Canes
340g Milk Chocolate Chips
227g White Chocolate Chips
2-3 drops of Peppermint Extract

Equipment:
Parchment Paper
Two glass bowls
One Pot filled halfway with Water
Two Table Spoons
Paper Towels
A Baking Tray
A Ziplock Bag
A Rolling Pin

Optional:
Sieve

Start by gathering all the leftover candy canes that you want to use and that are mint flavored. Remove the candy canes from their wrappers and then place them into an empty ziplock bag. Close the ziplock back and use the rolling pin to crush the candy canes into little bits.

Optional:
Pour the crushed candy canes into a sieve and tap lightly in order to remove the finely crushed bits.

Put a pot of water on the stove and bring it to a boil. Pour the milk chocolate chips into a glass bowl and place that glass bowl over the pot of boiling water. Wait a minute and then stir the chocolate chips making sure that all the chips get melted. Once your milk chocolate is smooth with no solid bit in it, then carefully remove the glass bowl from the pot. With paper towels dry the bottom of the glass bowl. Place a sheet of parchment paper onto a baking tray. Now you're ready to pour the milk chocolate. Once you've finished pouring the chocolate onto the parchment paper, use a spoon to spread the chocolate - move the spoon in circular motions. When the chocolate is evenly spread then take the tray and gently tap it on the counter to remove any air bubbles in the chocolate. Place the baking tray into the freezer for 5 minutes.

While your milk chocolate is cooling in the freezer, place the white chocolate chips into a clean glass bowl. Place this glass bowl over the pot of boiling water and wait a minute. Stir the chocolate making sure everything is melted. Add two to three drops of peppermint extract and stir into the melted chocolate. Take the Milk chocolate out of the freezer. Pour the white chocolate mixture over the milk chocolate and spread it, covering all the milk chocolate. Pour the crushed candy canes over the white chocolate. Take the tray and gently tap it on the counter to get rid of and air bubbles and set the crushed candy canes in place. Put the baking tray in the freezer and wait another 5 minutes.

Optional:
Take some of the finely crushed candy canes that you sieved out earlier and place it into the white chocolate mixture - giving it a bit of color.

Once the peppermint bark has cooled, take it out of the freezer. You are ready the break the bark into bits. You may use a knife to cut into measures sections or just simply break it up with your bare hands. Once you've broken it up, you are ready to enjoy and share with your friends.