Every year since I was a kid, my mom and I would smash candy canes and heat chocolate for my holiday parties at school. However, now that I’m too old for school parties, what better way to share my holiday tradition than letting others make it for themselves.
Ingredients:
- 24 oz bar of vanilla almond bark
- 24 oz bar of chocolate almond bark
- 1 box of 12 count peppermint candy canes
- ½ tsp – 1 tsp of peppermint extract
This recipe is really easy! Begin with unwrapping the candy canes and placing them in a Ziplock bag. Once they have all been unwrapped, place the first Ziplock into a second Ziplock to prevent any mess from tearing.
The next step is to smash up the candy canes to a preferred size. Personally, I enjoy the candy canes crushed to a powder, while my mom prefers to have a few bigger pieces in the mix. If you’re not big on smashing, placing the candy canes into a food processor also works to get them to a desired consistency.
Once the candy canes are perfectly destroyed, set them aside and begin preparing the chocolate. Break up the chocolate almond bark into a large microwave safe bowl, and begin microwaving the chocolate in 30 seconds intervals, stirring between each interval.
After about one and a half minutes, the chocolate should be a nice, smooth consistency ready for the peppermint extract. It is important to keep stirring in this stage so the chocolate doesn’t harden in the bowl. Also be sure to taste the chocolate to make sure it has enough mint for your taste.
Once the peppermint extract has been added, pour the chocolate onto a large pan lined with parchment paper for easy cleanup. As the vanilla and chocolate almond bark are a one-to-one ratio, the pan size doesn’t matter as long as the chocolate isn’t too thick.
After pouring the chocolate, quickly use a spatula to spread it into a thin layer on top of the parchment paper. Once the chocolate is spread into a thin layer, place it in a cold space to harden. This can be the freezer, the fridge or even just a colder room in the house. Depending on the temperature of the space, the chocolate can harden in 10-15 minutes.
While the first layer is hardening, prepare the vanilla almond bark in the same way as the chocolate almond bark. Microwave for 30 seconds intervals and stir between each interval. However, it is important to not add any more mint extract, as this can make the bark too minty.
Once the chocolate almond bark is hardened, get a partner to assist with the next step. Pour the vanilla almond bark onto the chocolate almond bark and spread it quickly while your baking partner sprinkles the candy canes onto the vanilla almond bark layer. The candy canes must be sprinkled on when the vanilla almond bark is still melted as to be certain the candy canes stick to the bark.
Once satisfied with the amount of candy canes, place the pan back into the cold space to harden. After another 10-15 minutes, the bark should be completely hard and ready to break. I recommend making a few hard lines in the bark with a pizza cutter to assist with the breaking.
Lift up the parchment paper and break the bark into as small of pieces as desired and then it’s ready to serve! As the bark is chocolate, keep it in a cool, dark place until serving to prevent melting.
I hope you enjoy the treat my mom and I have made for years and maybe even find your own tradition included. Happy holidays!
Edited by Stuti Khadka and Jayme Thompson