Peppermint Bark

Peppermint Bark is a favorite Christmas treat that’s super easy to make with only four ingredients: semi-sweet chocolate, white chocolate, peppermint extract, and candy canes.

Is it even Christmas without some peppermint treats? I don’t think so! Peppermint and chocolate are a great duo. Like in my Dark Chocolate Peppermint Roll Cake, White Chocolate Dipped Peppermint Sugar Cookies, or Peppermint Thumbprint Cookies.

White, milk, or dark chocolate tastes great with that classic peppermint candy cane. And that’s why I’m excited to share this peppermint bark recipe with you today.

Peppermint Bark Recipe

Peppermint bark is a super easy holiday candy you can make for parties or gift giving. The rustic broken bits of bark are perfect for sharing and snacking.

This recipe for peppermint bark has only four ingredients: semi-sweet chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, peppermint extract, and candy canes.

How to Make Peppermint Bark

The first step to make peppermint bark is to melt the semi-sweet chocolate. You can do this in short, 30 second bursts in the microwave or with a double boiler on the stove.

Spread the melted chocolate into a thin layer on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Refrigerate until just set.

Next, melt the white chocolate (by microwave or double-boiler) and stir in the peppermint extract.

Spread it over the semi-sweet chocolate layer and immediately top with crushed candy canes. Gently pressing the candy into the white chocolate while it’s still soft. *NOTE: The white chocolate layer may solidify quickly depending on how cold the semi-sweet chocolate layer is beneath it.

Refrigerate until set. Then break or cut the peppermint bark into pieces and serve.

Tips and Helpful Information

• Use HIGH QUALITY chocolate chips for this peppermint bark. Don’t be tempted to buy the cheap stuff. Guittard is the brand I recommend. If you can’t find good quality chocolate chips, buy the same amount of ounces in chocolate baking bars. Look for these brands: Ghirardelli, Lindt, or Baker’s.
• Use white chocolate that contains real cocoa butter and not just palm oil. Fats like palm oil and coconut oil are incompatible with the cocoa butter that’s in the dark chocolate, so the two won’t bond together.
• Use an offset spatula to spread the chocolate. It makes it easy and evenly spread.
• Crush candy canes in a zip-top bag with a meat mallet or rolling pin. You can pick out the bigger pieces, use a fine mesh sieve to separate the pieces from the crumbs, or use all of the crushed candy cane remains — according to your preference.
• Store in an airtight container up to 2 weeks at room temperature. Condensation from the fridge or freezer may make the candy cane pieces sticky.