{"id":983,"date":"2010-01-06T00:15:06","date_gmt":"2010-01-06T05:15:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thisfoodthing.com\/?p=983"},"modified":"2010-01-18T13:21:48","modified_gmt":"2010-01-18T18:21:48","slug":"white-milk-chocolate-peppermint-bark-candy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/thisfoodthing.com\/index.php\/2010\/01\/06\/white-milk-chocolate-peppermint-bark-candy\/","title":{"rendered":"White & Milk Chocolate Peppermint Bark Candy"},"content":{"rendered":"

One of my favorite things at the holiday is the taste peppermint. \u00a0And nothing is better than peppermint and chocolate, \u00a0and a cup of hot cocoa. \u00a0 \"\"<\/a>However, the place we usually get peppermint bark is at Williams-Sonoma and is out of price range for me. \u00a0I’ve tried other types, bit it never quite matches up. \u00a0So.. I searched high and low (okay, one Google search), and found what I wanted. \u00a0The original post is here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

This recipe is really similar to Williams-Sonoma. \u00a0I didn’t use dark or semi sweet chocolate, though, as I had milk-chocolate chips in the house already. \u00a0I also could not find “Peppermint” extract in any of my local markets, so I ended up using a genera “Mint” extract.<\/p>\n

The original recipe has you melting the chocolate over a double boiler. \u00a0I find that to be a bit fussy, and so stick to the microwave method. \u00a0The trick to melting chocolate in the microwave is to stir it every 30 seconds, or it can burn or\u00a0separate.<\/p>\n

I made this for New Years Eve and everyone loved it. \u00a0Yummmy goodness!<\/p>\n

Peppermint Bark<\/h1>\n

12 ounce bag chocolate chips, any – dark, semi or milk
\n16 ounce bag white chocolate chips
\n1\/2 teaspoon peppermint extract
\n1\/2 cup peppermint candy, crushed<\/p>\n

Preheat the oven to 250F (121C).<\/p>\n

Crush the peppermint candy. \u00a0I used about 10 candy canes when I did this. \u00a0I tried crushing these with a wooden mallet, and then ended \u00a0up putting the candy into a ziplock, and getting out the hammer!! \u00a0Do what works for you.<\/p>\n

Line a 9×13 pan (cake pan) with foil. \u00a0Let the foil hang over the edges and wrap it around. \u00a0Spray the foil with non-stick spray, or, using vegetable oil, spread the oil lightly over the bottom of the pan, as well as the sides.<\/p>\n

Pour in the chocolate chips and spread them out evenly. \u00a0Try to put them in as evenly as possible the first time, so you don’t get oil on the top of the chocolate. \u00a0Place the pan in the oven for 5 minutes. \u00a0Remove from the oven. \u00a0The chips will look glossy, but will be melted. \u00a0Spread the chocolate out evenly. \u00a0Place in the refrigerator until firm – 20-30 minutes. \u00a0Remove from the refrigerator and allow to sit for 10 minutes. \u00a0Remove any condensation that may occur with a paper towel.<\/p>\n

Once the chocolate has been out for the 10 minutes, place the white chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl. \u00a0Place in the microwave for 30 seconds. \u00a0Remove. \u00a0Stir. \u00a0Replace and set for another 30 seconds. \u00a0Do that until the chocolate has melted. \u00a0Add in the peppermint extract and stir well.<\/p>\n

Once the white chocolate has melted, pour it over the chocolate in the pan, and spread evenly. \u00a0Sprinkle with the crushed peppermint. \u00a0 Refrigerate about 1 hour. \u00a0Lift the foil out of the pan and remove the excess peppermint and the foil. \u00a0Break or cut this into pieces. \u00a0For a more “formal” look, cut it into 2 inch wide strips. \u00a0 You can store this in a cool, dry place for a couple of weeks or longer in the refrigerator. \u00a0Place the pieces in a container, layer with parchment paper and store tightly sealed. \u00a0This makes about 2 pounds.<\/p>\n

Variations:<\/h2>\n

Replace the peppermint extract and peppermint candies, using a variation below:<\/p>\n

Almond Bark<\/strong> – Use 1\/2 teaspoon almond flavoring, and 1\/2 cup of blanched, chopped (or sliced) almonds.<\/p>\n

Cherry Almond –<\/strong> use 1\/2 teaspoon almond flavoring, 1\/3 cup dried cherries, minced, and 1\/2 cup blanched, chopped (or sliced) almonds<\/p>\n

Maple Walnut Bark<\/strong> – Use 1\/2 teaspoon maple flavoring, and 1\/2 cup of chopped walnuts<\/p>\n

Cranberry & Pistachios<\/strong> – 1\/3 cup of dried cranberries, minced, and 1\/2 cup of pistachios<\/p>\n

Toasted Coconut and Almonds<\/strong> – 1\/2 cup blanched, chopped (or sliced) almonds, and 1\/3 cup of shredded coconut<\/p>\n

Other variations:<\/h2>\n

Peanut Butter<\/strong>– \u00a0Replace the white chocolate, mint and peppermint candies with \u00a016 ounces Peanut butter chips and \u00a01\/2 cup salted peanuts<\/p>\n

Butterscotch<\/strong> – Replace the white chocolate with peanut butter chips, the chocolate with butterscotch chips, don’t use the peppermint extract, and replace the candy with peanuts and broken\u00a0pretzels<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

One of my favorite things at the holiday is the taste peppermint. \u00a0And nothing is better than peppermint and chocolate, \u00a0and a cup of hot cocoa. \u00a0 However, the place we usually get peppermint bark is at Williams-Sonoma and is … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,8,17],"tags":[87,438,105,486,439,141,487,492,436,26,402],"class_list":["post-983","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-christmas","category-desserts","category-holiday","tag-candy","tag-candy-canes","tag-chocolate","tag-christmas","tag-confection","tag-dessert","tag-desserts","tag-holiday","tag-peppermint","tag-snacky-things","tag-white-chocolate"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/thisfoodthing.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/983","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/thisfoodthing.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/thisfoodthing.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thisfoodthing.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thisfoodthing.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=983"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"http:\/\/thisfoodthing.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/983\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":988,"href":"http:\/\/thisfoodthing.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/983\/revisions\/988"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/thisfoodthing.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=983"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thisfoodthing.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=983"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thisfoodthing.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=983"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}