How to make peppermint bark

This is a really simple recipe for peppermint bark, which is a perfect gift for so many people during the holidays, including your kids' teachers, coaches, and significant others; your mail carrier; your mechanic (if you didn't already get him a case of beer -- not trying to be sexist here, my mechanic is a guy); and so on.

You get the idea: people love peppermint bark! You could also make it and use it instead of cookies at a swap.

Peppermint bark is quick and easy and you can do it last minute with ingredients from the supermarket, which means you can squeeze it out of your grocery budget if you're worried about your bank account (as so many of us are at holiday time -- I know I am). Get the kids involved, too. They can stir, smash candies with a hammer, and taste test.

Ingredients

• 24 oz. bag semi-sweet chocolate chips


• 24 oz. bag white chocolate chips (my supermarket does not carry this size so if yours doesn't just get two 12 oz. bags!)


• peppermint extract


• peppermint candies


• vegetable oil

Method

• Line two cookie sheets with wax paper.


• In  a double boiler (I just used a bowl fit over a pot because I don't have a real double boiler), melt the semi-sweet chocolate chips. I have heard you could do this in the microwave in short bursts, but I chose not to because I didn't want to deal with all the beeping and was afraid to boil the chocolate.


• Spread the melted semi-sweet chocolate over the wax paper and let it harden. It takes about 30 minutes.


• During this time you can break the peppermint candies. I put them in a ziplock bag and used a hammer. I did not unwrap them first – it's pretty easy to get the wrappers off after they're in pieces.


• Next, melt the white chocolate chips. You'll want to add a little vegetable oil (maybe a tablespoon) to keep these chips smooth. When they're all melted, add some peppermint extract and stir until mixed. It will "sizzle" a little as the alcohol burns off. (I just eyeballed this but I think 2 teaspoons would be good.)


• Pour the white chocolate over the semi-sweet chocolate and spread it around. Then add the broken candy pieces on top of that.

The peppermint bark should take approximately an hour to cool and harden. I just put mine in the garage overnight and the next morning it was ready to break up. I put it in a gallon-size ziplock bag and dropped it on the counter a few times. (The thinner it is, the easier it is to break.) You don't want fingerprints on it so I'd recommend using wax paper it/when handling it. You can portion it out directly from the gallon-size bag into small plastic containers or cellophane bags for gifting.

(I'd also recommend packaging it ASAP to avoid eating too much of it!)

Voilà! Now you have an impressive gift. People have told me they like it better than Nieman Marcus'.

Happy holidays and boy to the world!