It's Christmas time! Hooray! I am so excited for Christmas this year. I've always loved Christmas, but this year I am over the top with the decorations, music, and baking. Honestly, I'm like a little kid this year. And I love it.
To help all of you get in the Christmas spirit, I'll be doing a very special series I'm calling "The Twelve Treats of Christmas". From now until Christmas, I'll make twelve holiday favorites. Some of them are traditional to my family, some I'm making because they're traditional to other families, and others I'm making as a way to introduce new treats to include in homemade goodie tins, to take to cookie parties, and to place on bountiful buffet tables.
I'm kicking off the series today with peppermint bark, one of my all-time favorites. Peppermint is one of those things that really only gets used during Christmas time. And it's very good friends with chocolate. I happen to really love peppermint, so I've amped up the peppermint flavor here by using both peppermint extract and chopped up candy canes. I've also swirled the two chocolates together for a prettier and less expected presentation.
I hope you'll enjoy this peppermint bark all throughout this glorious season. Stay tuned for more treats as "The Twelve Treats of Christmas" continues!
Peppermint Bark
an "Apple a Day" original
printer-friendly recipe
Ingredients:
1 lb. dark or semisweet chocolate
1 lb. white chocolate
1 tsp. peppermint extract
4 candy canes, crushed or chopped
Directions:
1. Line one 9x13 baking dish with wax paper. Preheat oven to warm if only using one double boiler.
2. If using one double boiler, heat dark chocolate until just melted, them place in small heaps in lined baking dish. If using two double boilers, heat white chocolate and peppermint extract together until just melted. Place white chocolate mixture and dark chocolate in baking dish, alternating large spoonfuls for a checkerboard effect. If you do not want to swirl the chocolate, spread the dark chocolate out in the baking dish, let cool slightly, then carefully layer white chocolate on top.
3. Using an offset or other small spatula, swirl chocolates together until you have the look you want. 4. Sprinkle candy cane on top of swirled chocolate.
5. Let cool at room temperature. Chop into pieces when completely cooled.
To help all of you get in the Christmas spirit, I'll be doing a very special series I'm calling "The Twelve Treats of Christmas". From now until Christmas, I'll make twelve holiday favorites. Some of them are traditional to my family, some I'm making because they're traditional to other families, and others I'm making as a way to introduce new treats to include in homemade goodie tins, to take to cookie parties, and to place on bountiful buffet tables.
I'm kicking off the series today with peppermint bark, one of my all-time favorites. Peppermint is one of those things that really only gets used during Christmas time. And it's very good friends with chocolate. I happen to really love peppermint, so I've amped up the peppermint flavor here by using both peppermint extract and chopped up candy canes. I've also swirled the two chocolates together for a prettier and less expected presentation.
I hope you'll enjoy this peppermint bark all throughout this glorious season. Stay tuned for more treats as "The Twelve Treats of Christmas" continues!
Peppermint Bark
an "Apple a Day" original
printer-friendly recipe
Ingredients:
1 lb. dark or semisweet chocolate
1 lb. white chocolate
1 tsp. peppermint extract
4 candy canes, crushed or chopped
Directions:
1. Line one 9x13 baking dish with wax paper. Preheat oven to warm if only using one double boiler.
2. If using one double boiler, heat dark chocolate until just melted, them place in small heaps in lined baking dish. If using two double boilers, heat white chocolate and peppermint extract together until just melted. Place white chocolate mixture and dark chocolate in baking dish, alternating large spoonfuls for a checkerboard effect. If you do not want to swirl the chocolate, spread the dark chocolate out in the baking dish, let cool slightly, then carefully layer white chocolate on top.
3. Using an offset or other small spatula, swirl chocolates together until you have the look you want. 4. Sprinkle candy cane on top of swirled chocolate.
5. Let cool at room temperature. Chop into pieces when completely cooled.