Family Favorites - December 2018: Peppermint Bark (Fish, Egg, Wheat and Nut-Free, Can Be Milk and Soy-Free)

This year, I decided to list a family favorite recipe from the blog (with any adaptions that we use regularly, if applicable) on the fourth Friday or Saturday of every month.  This recipe will be one that we make quite often and that we all enjoy greatly.  This post is the last Family Favorites recipe of 2018.

If you have a recipe on your blog that you consider a family favorite that you'd like to share, please comment below with a link to the recipe, and I'll make sure to pop on over and visit your site to check it out (and leave a comment), and hopefully some of my other readers will, too.

This month's Family Favorite recipe is Peppermint Bark.  This is basically a reposting of my original Peppermint Bark recipe with a few tips and tricks listed as well.  It is super simple (only 2 ingredients!) to make, delicious, and not only a family favorite, but a crowd pleaser as well.  It is fish, egg, wheat and nut-free (if all your ingredients are), and can be milk and soy-free (see variations).  

Peppermint Bark

12 count peppermint candy canes

(We use Bob's whenever possible, but you can use your favorite peppermint candy cane that fits your allergen needs.)

12 oz. white chocolate chips

(We normally use Nestle's brand.)

1. Unwrap candy canes, place them in a gallon-size Ziploc bag and smash with a rolling pin until candy is broken down into small pieces (How small you want the pieces is up to you.); set aside.

2. Melt white chocolate over a double boiler, stirring constantly with a heat resistant spatula or wooden spoon, until morsels are fully melted. (Note: You can do this step using a microwave by putting the white chocolate in a large microwave-safe bowl and microwaving on high a minute, stirring, and repeating the process for  however long it takes to melt the chocolate completely, but I don't recommend it as it is easier to burn the chocolate this way.)

3. Mix candy canes bits into white chocolate and then pour mixture onto waxed paper, spreading your bark it to desired thinness.

4. Cool bark until it is completely hardened and then break apart into pieces.

Variations (Please keep your allergen needs in mind when using variations!):

• Milk-Free: Use a dairy-free chocolate in place of the regular white chocolate.  You could use Enjoy Life brand (though it wouldn't be white), Pascha brand, or any other dairy-free chocolate.
    
• Soy-Free:  Soy-free chocolate can be hard to find, but both Enjoy Life brand and Pascha brand are soy-free and can be used for the regular white chocolate in this recipe.  You will also have to make sure that your candy canes are soy-free.  If you can't find soy-free candy canes, but can find soy-free peppermint hard candies, you can substitute them in an equivalent amount (about 6 oz.).
  
  
• Black and White Peppermint Bark: Melt a 12 oz. bag of dark chocolate chips and spread onto waxed paper to desired thinness; allow to cool until hardened.  Double the batch of Peppermint Bark and spread on top of cooled dark chocolate and allow it to harden completely.  Break into pieces.  You can make this version more allergy friendly by using Enjoy Life brand and Pascha brand chocolate.
    
• Flatter/More Uniform Appearance: If you don't like the look of the bark with the crushed candy cane mixed into the chocolate, you can spread the white chocolate out first and then press pieces of the candy cane into it while it is still soft which will give it a flatter, more uniform look.
   
• Other Flavors: You could experiment with flavors, too, substituting another flavor candy cane (i.e. cherry, blue raspberry, spearmint) for the peppermint ones or using another type of chocolate for the white chocolate, as mentioned above.  You can also sub dried fruit, nuts, seeds, crushed pretzels, toffee bits, mini marshmallows, etc. for the crushed candy cane, if you can have them.

That's all there is to it!

Easy, peasy and so very good!

I hope you will give this recipe a try soon and that it becomes a family favorite for you, too!