Christmas Peppermint Bark Candy

I love Christmas Candy.  Of course my favorite is chocolate, any kind of chocolate.  I remember when I was growing up mom always had chocolate melting for one of her Christmas candies.  It didn’t matter what she made with it, the candy was wonderful.  I can remember when she would tell me and my sister to get some candy canes off the Christmas tree and break them up between was paper with a small hammer she kept in a kitchen drawer.  I think I ate more of the crushed candy canes than she actually got for her candy.

I loved the combination of peppermint and chocolate so much I could eat all the peppermint bark candy in one sitting.  To this day one of the first things I buy when it gets close to Christmas is candy canes.  I hide them in a cabinet until its time to make the candy.  Then I pull them out, unwrap one to munch on during the candy making.  The rest make them into my small food processor.  I gave up crushing them with a hammer years ago when I cracked a tile on my kitchen counter.  Luckily, I was soon to remodel the kitchen, so I only had my mishap reminder around for a few months.

So y’all need to pull out your white and dark chocolate and get to the store and get some candy canes.  If you don’t already make this at Christmas, I believe it will soon become a standard in your Christmas candy line up.

 

What you need:

• 12 ounces (about 2 cups) dark chocolate, chopped, or chocolate chips
• 12 ounces (about 2 cups) white chocolate, chopped, or white chocolate chips
• 8 peppermint candy canes

 

Unwrap the candy canes and place them in a food processor. Pulse on/off several times for 5-10 seconds each, until the canes have been crushed into small pieces. or you can use a rolling pin to roll/smash the candy canes until they are the size you desire.

Prepare a cookie sheet by covering it with smooth aluminum foil.

Melt the dark chocolate and pour it onto the prepared cookie sheet and use an offset spatula or knife to spread it to an even thickness.  Don’t worry if the chocolate does not  reach the sides of the  cookie sheet, as it will be broken up later anyhow. Place the tray in the refrigerator to firm up while you prepare the white chocolate.

While the dark chocolate hardens, melt the white chocolate. Stir in half of the candy cane bits, holding back about a quarter of the mixture to put on top.

Remove the tray from the refrigerator and spread the white chocolate in an even layer over the dark chocolate.

While the white chocolate is still soft, sprinkle the remaining candy cane pieces over the surface evenly. Press down very slightly to ensure they stick.

Place the tray back in the refrigerator to firm up for 30 minutes.