Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Peppermint Bark! (and yes, it's related to home improvement)

I was inspired by Aimee at Aimee's Blog to make peppermint bark. It looked like such a good (and easy) idea for coworker gifts. Her pictures make it look truly elegant and scrumptious, too.

My own made-up recipe:
2 bags (24 ounces) of Ghirardelli semi-sweet chocolate chips
3 bars (12 ounces) of Ghirardelli white chocolate
1/2 tsp peppermint extract
18 Candy Canes

First, I smashed the candy canes with the hammer wrapped in tinfoil. The best tool for the job, I must add. I love my hammer. This was FUN! (Hint: Don't crush fingers... only candy canes)
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Then, I melted the chocolate chips in the microwave on 50% heat. Start with 1:30, and then stir. If it's not melted, heat for :30 and stir again. Repeat until creamy. Add 1/4 tsp of peppermint extract.
Smear (I love that word) the chocolate all over a tinfoil lined baking sheet and chill for an hour.
Then, melt the white chocolate (same process as above). Stir in 1/4 tsp peppermint extract and the crushed candy canes and smear over the hardened dark chocolate. Chill overnight.
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In the morning, use your HAMMER to break the peppermint bark into pieces.
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I wrapped the peppermint bark in candy boxes and tied a pretty gift tag on for decoration:
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How is this home improvement related? It uses a hammer, of course!

5 comments:

Dulcie said...

Mmmm... that does look yummy and easy. I wouldn't mind snacking on some right now.

Josh said...

That looks like fun! I'll have to try this with my 4-year-old. He'd really enjoy hammering that candy.

carmen said...

so cute. love the packaging too!

Anonymous said...

love that you put peppermint in the chocolate! i am planning to do that next year. :) looks like a cute gift too!

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