I love peppermint bark for so many reasons. It is one of my favorite Christmas recipes because of how simple it is. In fact, my daughters made this last batch with my supervision and I must say… they did a fabulous job! In fact I think their bark looks better than Harry and David’s, Williams-Sonoma, and Neiman Marcus’ because it is homemade and made with 100% love.
Some peppermint bark recipes only use white chocolate but I prefer the combination of both brown and white. If you are looking for an easy to make Holiday treat to make as gifts or to have on hand when guests come over this is a great recipe for you – freezes well too. Happy Holidays! Enjoy!
Peppermint Bark Recipe
INGREDIENTS:
1 bag of chocolate chips (any kind you like)
1 bag of white chocolate chips
24 mini candy canes, crushed *do not crush using a food processor – place candy canes in a zip lock bag and use a hammer to crush into small pieces
DIRECTIONS:
Line the bottom of a 9×13 pan with parchment paper. Pour (brown) chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave chocolate chips in increments of 30 seconds stirring the chips each time until chocolate chips have completed melted and mixture is smooth. Spread melted chocolate as evenly as possibly into lined pan. Place pan into freezer for 20 minutes. Repeat the same melting process with the white chips. While chocolate is still smooth, stir in half of the crushed candy cane mixture. Allow the white chocolate to slightly cool for a minute. Remove pan from freezer and spread white chocolate/crushed candy canes mixture on top of the chocolate layer. Spread white chocolate as quickly as possible. Top off with remaining crushed candy cane and gently pat down with the back of a spatula. Return pan to freezer for 20 minutes. Remove from freezer and gently lift the whole mixture from the pan with a butter knife. You should now have a solid sheet of peppermint bark. Remove parchment paper and break into pieces. Store any left over bark in a ziplock bag and place in the freezer. Enjoy!
*if white chocolate chips do not melt smooth, stir in 2 tablespoons of shortening.
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Looks so easy. My kids would love this. Thank you.
These look too yummy, I was just looking around for a good recipe, thanks for sharing!
My daughter will be so happy to help with this one!
-Natasha
My kids are going to thank you and my waistline is going to hate you! This looks so easy and good!
Looks even better than what you can find at the store, and I love how your daughter looks like she’s enjoying every minute of it!
Beautiful pictures and super delicious looking bark! I made some last year and it was a big hit with everyone. I can’t wait for the holidays
Wow those pictures look delicious. I really want to try this. It looks so easy! Thank you for the tempting blog post.
My husband loves peppermint bark! This is going to be a great surprise!
Yum! Peppermint bark is one of my favorites… I’m especially fond of smashing candy canes. It can be very stress relieving over the holidays to take my aggression out!
I’d love to make peppermint bark, I’ve never tried it but it looks so gloriously festive! Delicious
Yum, that looks delicious! I think I may make some for christmas gifts!
This looks easy to make! Thanks! Another new activity for me and my kids in the kitchen!
SOOO much nicer than any store-bought brand. You should set up a little boutique to sell it!
Definitely need to make some of this! I haven’t had peppermint bark in the longest time!
this looks delish! and so festive! i believe ill make it for the neighbours for presents:)
Made this last night for a party at work today and it was snarfed down like nobody’s business! Everyone raved on and on. I was almost embarrassed to tell them how ridiculously simple it was. Ironically couldn’t find any candy canes at our little grocery store, so used Brach’s starlight mints and that was just fine. Very tasty and I am sure we will be making another batch or four!
Delicious….Your recipe helps me ! I have made it and it was awesome. Thank you.
I make this using the melting candies they sell at Michael’s. They have a mint chocolate that just adds to the yummy bark!
So glad I found your blog through the cookbook give-away from PW. I can’t wait to try this and several other recipes I’ve bookmarked! I’m in the Seattle area as well. Hope you & yours have a great holiday season!
Absolutely love your web site. Can’t wait to don an apron and try this peppermint bark recipe!
the fact of the matter is that none of this would, has, or ever will make it into the freezer or into a gift bag. i scarf it all down myself, and with gusto.
I made this for the first time tonight for a Bible study fellowship evening and it’s as easy as you say and as delicious! But what’s the trick to cutting it? Is one “tool” better than another? Should we let it sit out of the freezer for a while so it isn’t quite so brittle? This will definitely be a holiday staple! Thank you!
Hi Gwena,
There isn’t a trick to cutting it. I just grap it and start snapping pieces off. When you take it out of the freezer, the harder it is, the easier it is to snap pieces off. From there, its up to you if you want to leave it out to soften a bit. Hope that helps!
Alice
Very fun! I love your blog Alice. Your photos are just amazing.
So crisp and clear and beautiful!
Merry Christmas. Hope you can make the brunch on the 14th!
I shared your deliciousness of this on my blog this week.
Thanks again for a wonderful post of the recipe and photos.
Just the recipe I was looking for. Thanks for the detailed instructions — makes an easy recipe even easier when there is no guessing! I could gooble up your pictures, too.
We tried this one tonight too! So fun & easy to make w.my kids and they LOVED it! Will be making more for gift treats.
Any suggestions on the best chocolate to use?
Sara,
I don’t really have any suggestions since I just use what I have on hand. I made these using Ghiradelli Bittersweet chips. I would use your favorite type of chocolate because it comes down to preference. Hope this helps.
Alice
I made it last night. Tasted great, however, the milk chocolate and white chocolate layers separated when I broke it apart. Any suggestions?
Thank-you!!
Hi Sara,
I don’t know why they separated. How long did you have them in the refrigerator or freezer before trying to break them apart? Also what method did you use to break them?
Great recipie. Ive been making this for years and tastes much better than any you can buy in a store! I add peppermint extract ( a few drops) to the white chocolate mixture before adding the crushed candy. Gives it an extra pepperminty flavor, which I love!
This looks easy, beautiful and tasty. Great recipe!
I tried to make this peppermint bark tonight and found it indeed very easy and it tasted good! I used dark chocolate because I like the bittersweet taste. I think the tricky part is to break it… Lots of peppermint bits fell off. Maybe it’s because I didn’t press them into the white chocolate layer enough?
Hi Eva,
Peppermint will fall off.. After you sprinkle it on.. gently press down on it and this should help with retaining as much crushed candy cane on it as possible. Glad you liked it.
Same problem-when I go to break it up white and dark chocolate come apart. I am left with sheets of dark chocolate and sheets of white chocolate with peppermint.
I just layered the pan with white chocolate and peppermint pieces and remelted the dark chocolate-drizzling it over the top. Now I have peppermint sandwiches dark on top-white on bottom.
Hi David,
Way to be creative! Sorry the 2 halves split on you but glad to hear you came up with a great solution. Happy Holidays!
Is there a better way to snap off the pieces so the edges look more clean and each piece is about the same size?
Hi Alice, and readers.
I recently tried making this usine a similar recipe but without the freezer steps. Like a few others here say they experienced, though, the white and dark chocolate separated completely when I broke or cut the candy. FYI, I used Ghirardelli bittersweet chips for the bottom, and Nestle’s Tollhouse white chips for the top. I’d be interested in seeing what happens if I try again but do the freezer steps, as Alice’s recipe calls for. As for the peppermints falling off, I’ve made peppermint bark MANY times and I know that if I don’t get those peppermints onto the melted chocolate while it is still wet and warm they’re just not gonna stick, so you gotta work fast! But here’s something that I do that gives results I really like: after crushing the candies in a plastic bag, as Alice suggest, I then pour them into a handled wire mesh strainer, about 6″ across. Then, I shake the strainer while passing it evenly over the melted white chocolate in order to add all those teensy little peppermint crystals to ALL of the chocolate. Looks all sparkly and beautiful, too! Once that’s done, then I make another pass shaking the larger pieces out. Now, even if some of the bigger pieces of candy fall off, you still get lovely pepperminty flavor with each bite of chocolate!
can you tell me what size bag there are 12 oz and bigger?
thanks
Alice this has been a HUGE hit with my family and friends. However I did add my own touch because for the life of me, I could not (and can NEVER) get the white chocolate to melt. I’m not sure if my microwave isn’t hot enough or what, but my white chocolate whether it is chips or melting bark always burns. Any tips?? So since I already had the pan in the freezer with the chocolate cooling I went ahead and melted some peppermint baking chips that I had and added that on top of my chocolate layer. I added candy cane pieces to that afterward. That turned out perfect and broke amazing for my goodie bags. Thanks Again, your website and recipes are perfect! Happy Holidays!
HI Devan,
Glad you liked the peppermint bark. As for as melting the white chips down, you could always try melting them using a double broiler. When microwaving, it’s important to only microwave it in 30 second increments always stirring between them. If your chocolate is still burning, I would check the back of your bag and use the instructions on “melting”. Hope this helps!
Fantastic recipe, I love peppermint bark. Thanks for sharing this with us, I’ll give it a try asap
Happy New Year from Belgium!
Made this tonight…..so yummy!!
@David-Thank you so much for this idea!! My layers separated and I do not want to waste this batch as they were supposed to be Christmas gifts. I’m going to try melting my chocolate layer now and drizzle over my white chocolate and peppermint bits! Wish me luck!
I have made these twice and while they are so easy and super yummy, my brown and whites keep separting. Kind of hard to give as a gift. Any suggestions anyone has would be great. HELP!!
Hi Angie: I typically put mine in the freezer to make sure both chocolates are set. From there, I grab the bark firmly with both hands and quickly start snapping pieces off. I wish I could offer you a solution but I haven’t had issues with it separating. Maybe others who’ve made this recipe can share their tips.
What size bags of chocolate chips did you use? The regular 12 oz size or bigger?
how big of a gallon bag should be full of candy canes
?
This recipe is great. I made it for all my kid’s teachers and for my family. Everyone loved it. Thank you.
I too have had the layer-separation and detached-candy problems, and here’s how I’ve solved them:
To keep the layers from separating, I spread the white layer on top of the dark layer while it’s still wet. This is tricky if (like I do) you use non-chip chocolate that needs to be tempered. It would be easier with chips. I put the white chocolate (not mixed with candy) in a zipper bag, cut off a corner, and pipe it over the dark chocolate, then carefully spread it to cover.
To keep the candy stuck into the chocolate, I take the above commenter’s suggestion of a strainer one step further and strain the dust out of the crunched candy before putting it on the bark. That way none of the dust gets between the big attractive pieces and the chocolate to keep them from adhering. To keep the candy from coming off on your hands when breaking it apart, put baggies over your hands or a sheet of plastic wrap over the top of the candy.
You could easily combine the two solutions by using only the dust to mix into the white chocolate, so that you can still pipe it.
Hi Katie: Thanks for sharing your tips!
Love this recipe. Just made tonight with my 5 year old and posted to my blog. Thank you.
I’m anxious to try your peppermint bark as an addition to an upcoming Christmas sweets swap! Is it possible to find out the size or weight of chips used? I have on hand, 250 gram bags, 326 gram bags, and 500 gram bags.
Thank you!
We’re wondering the same thing
How much is one bag? Like a 12 oz.one or a 6 oz.one? Thank you!
I notice you posted this recipe years ago, but I just found it this week. My kids and I made the bark and it was wonderful!
To other commenters: A typical bag of Nestle’s chocolate chips is 12 oz or 340g. I think anything in the neighborhood will work fine. I might use a bit more chocolate next time to make the chocolate layer thicker.
Also, I just used the fridge (not the freezer) to cool things down, and it worked fine. I left it in a little longer. I also store the bark in the fridge.
Thanks again for the great recipe! I have sent several friends this way for the recipe.
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