15 Minute Peppermint Bark

Hello, my name is Annie, and I am incompetent when it comes to baking.

I rarely post desserts on here because I’ve been known to ruin a BOXED BROWNIE mix. Aka I can’t bake. Hence why the first dessert I’ve posted on here in I don’t know how long is literally melted chocolate that you spread onto a baking sheet…holllaaahhhhh – this is my kind of homemade dessert!

And the cool thing is that peppermint bark is SUPER delicious and so Christmasy that you have little elves dancing on your shoulders as you munch on it, BUT it’s also crazy easy. So if there are any challenged bakers out there (I feel ya, gurl), hop on this peppermint bark train with me and we can take a ride down easy street.

This peppermint bark recipe is ultra simple and is done and ready to set in your fridge after just fifteen minutes or less, leaving you just enough time to lick all the melted chocolate off of the bowl/spoon/counter and clean the kitchen before your bark is hardened and ready to break into chunks!

This is the perfect Christmas gift to give to others, the perfect little treat to bring to work, oooorrrr the perfect item to keep in your fridge for those midnight sweet tooth moments if you naamsayin’. I know you do.

You want to know something funny that’s really going to make you realize how challenged at desserts I am? This recipe took not one, not two, but THREE tries before I got it right. The first two times the flavor was there but I had chocolate issues. Let’s travel back to each attempt:

1. First attempt: Microwaved the chocolate. Added the peppermint extract. The white chocolate stayed together just fine, but the semi-sweet chocolate seized up and was like naahhhhh I ain’t goin’ to this party. It became so hard you couldn’t even stir it. Fail. So we put google to work on “how to fix seized up chocolate.” Well, it turns out that if you add boiling water 1 teaspoon at a time while stirring, it fixes it right up! So we did that and finished everything, set it in the fridge to harden, and SO. MUCH. TIME. passed but it still wasn’t hardening up. I was like whatevs, we will just leave it in the fridge overnight. The next morning, it was STILL BENDY. So, my lesson: if you add water to chocolate, it doesn’t fully harden back up. Who knew? #Science.
2. Second attempt: Microwaved the chocolate WITH the peppermint extract in it. Nope. Still siezed up. Not quite as bad this time, but it turned into the texture of a buttercream frosting. I probs could have still used that, but I wanted it to be perfect by the time I sent it out into the internet world and you decided to make it for your family and friends (or beautiful self).
3. Third attempt: This one was successful! The trick? A double boiler. Melt the chocolate, add the peppermint extract, and everything stays nice and melty and yummy.

Ughhhh desserts…why do you hate me so? Why don’t you just make yourself easy for me so I can enjoy you on a daily basis? Maybe someday I’ll master baking. LOL. False.

You know what’s awesome about Christmas in modern America? Online Christmas shopping. And by online I clearly mean Amazon and only Amazon. Oh, Amazon, my old friend. I’m sure my UPS dude is like “what…how are there more packages” as he delivers to my house on baaaasically a daily basis. NO JUDGEMENTS, MAN.

It’s the one click ordering that gets ya. Sneaky, smart Amazonians. << That’s totes what their employees should be called.

Anyway, because I have little Ford this year, popping out of the house to shop at the mall or Target or wherever isn’t nearly as easy or entertaining since we have an hour and forty five minute window until it’s nap time again. It’s like Mission Impossible: Mom Style. Baby wakes up, ninja roll into room and change baby before simultaneously strapping him into car seat and placing paci in mouth, drive at reasonable speed to nearest store, grab items with uber-efficiency, check out with minimal cashier small talk about cute babies, and drive home in time for nap.

So needless to say, being able to do my Christmas shopping from the comfort of my home has been chooiiccee this year. And Amazon literally has everything. I figure out what I want to get the person, and one click later – BAM – being delivered to my house in two days. I’m LOL-ing at the fact that I sound like an Amazon affiliate here…I have zero working connection with Amazon…this is just how obsessed I am.

Is that sad? Probs. Ima just go with it and own it.

Watch how to make this 15 Minute Peppermint Bark here!

Have a wonderful rest of the week, internet friends!

15 Minute Peppermint Bark

• Author: Annie Chesson
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 0 mins
• Total Time: 15 minutes
• Yield: 10 large pieces 1x

Scale 1x2x3x

Ingredients

• 12 ounces of white chocolate (I use Bakers)
• 4 ounces of semi-sweet chocolate (I used Bakers)
• 2 1/2 teaspoons peppermint extract, divided
• 2 tablespoons (ish) crushed peppermint pieces

Instructions

1. Melt your white chocolate in a double boiler (*see note about double boiler*), stirring often as it melts
2. When melted, stir in 1 1/2 teaspoons of peppermint extract. Set aside
3. Repeat the process in a separate bowl with you semi sweet chocolate. When melted, add the remaining 1 teaspoon peppermint extract and stir to combine
4. Line a baking sheet with wax paper (parchment paper works, too) and spread your white chocolate out in a thin layer using a spatula
5. Spoon dollops of your semi sweet chocolate over the white chocolate and then, using the tip of a knife, swirl in large figure eight patterns until the semi sweet chocolate is swirled into the white chocolate
6. While still melty, sprinkle over your crushed peppermint pieces
7. Place in the fridge until set and then break into pieces

Notes

For the double boiler, you can easily fake one at home: take a small pot and add a few inches of water. Bring the water to a simmer/boil and add a glass bowl (stainless steel apparently also works, but I’ve never tried) on top of your pot. Make sure the water in the pot is low enough that it doesn’t touch the bottom of your glass bowl. The bowl will get hot, so make sure to use a potholder!

If you make this or any of my other recipes, be sure to Instagram it and hashtag #thegarlicdiaries!

In the mood for more Christmas treats? Check these out:

Peppermint Bark Christmas Crunch

Single Serving Peanut Butter Hot Chocolate

Mexican Hot Chocolate Truffle Balls