Peppermint Bark

Chocolate and peppermint are two of the tops things I look forward to during the holidays (besides family of course). Thankfully, this peppermint bark combines my love of both chocolate and peppermint into one. If you know one of those rare people that don’t like chocolate and peppermint together, I’m sorry. They are crazy and can’t be trusted.

We have been a for a while, sorry it has been so long since we have made a post. Or shared a recipe. Life has been busy, even while living in the middle of a pandemic. But now that the holidays are upon us we are hoping to post more regularly. We will be sharing some recipes and DIYs we have been working on. Hopefully then by the new year we will be back on to a schedule and posting consistently. However, enough about that lets talk more about this Peppermint Bark.

Involve Your Kids

When shopping for gluten free treats, one thing that is super frustrating is the lack of gluten free chocolate available. What I mean by this is that there is plain Jane chocolate you can buy, of course. But all of the fun chocolate generally contains or may contains gluten. This can be especially frustrating when shopping for kids that have celiac disease or are gluten free. They feel left out and you as a parent, grandparent, aunt, uncle (etc.) feel terrible. That is why this recipe is so easy to make and you can get those little hands involved as well.

I do not recommend having your child involved with melting the chocolate since this is a bit tricky and they could get hurt. But they will love breaking up the peppermint candies, as well as sprinkling them on top of the chocolate once it is in the baking sheet. Not to mention you can have them help you break up the peppermint bark once it has set and is ready to be broken up.

S’mores Bark Option

Lucky for you we are also including a secondary option for those crazy people who don’t like peppermint and chocolate. Our second option is S’mores. Now who doesn’t love s’mores? It’s not really the time of year for s’mores now that it’s snowing and the nights are too cold for campfires. But that is why we have brought s’mores inside, that requires not going outside (because who loves the cold?) and only a little fire, but this is optional. The majority of the recipe is the same as the peppermint bark, but for the s’mores bark just skip the peppermint oil and use gluten free graham crackers, mini marshmallows and milk chocolate chips instead of peppermint candies.

Finding Gluten Free Peppermint Candy Canes

I would like to note that you may have an extremely hard time finding gluten free peppermint candy canes or peppermint candies. It is very discouraging looking for peppermint candy canes in stores, and continuously seeing “may contain wheat.” Skip looking for these in grocery stores and head to your closest bulk barn. They should have peppermint candies, whether the sticks our little circular ones that are individually wrapped and gluten free. They may not have a gluten free certification but they will not contain or may contain gluten/wheat. If you know of a certified gluten free candy cane brand, please drop the name in the comments below.

Well there you have it folks, gluten free peppermint bark and s’mores bark. Really you can use steps 2-4 in the recipe as the base and then top and dress up your bark with whatever toppings and flavours you want. The possibilities are really endless. If you’re looking for more gluten free treats check out these Rice Krispie Pinwheels.

Print Recipe

Peppermint Bark

Gluten Free Peppermint Bark will get you right into the holiday spirit. Dark and white chocolate topped with crushed peppermint candies.

Prep Time

20 minutes

Passive Time

2 hours

Servings

servings

Ingredients

Peppermint Bark

• 24 ounces dark chocolate chips
• 24 ounces white chocolate chips
• 1 1/2 packs gluten free candy canes or peppermint candies
• 1/2 tsp peppermint oil optional

S'mores Bark Option

• 100 grams gluten free graham crackers
• 1 cup mini marshmallows
• 3 ounces milk chocolate chips

Prep Time 20 minutes Passive Time 2 hours Servings servings Ingredients Peppermint Bark 24 ounces dark chocolate chips 24 ounces white chocolate chips 1 1/2 packs gluten free candy canes or peppermint candies 1/2 tsp peppermint oil optional S'mores Bark Option 100 grams gluten free graham crackers 1 cup mini marshmallows 3 ounces milk chocolate chips

Instructions

Peppermint Bark

1. Start by wrapping all of the peppermint candies and placing them in a ziplock freezer bag. Then take a meat tenderizer or rolling pin and gently break them up until they are in small pieces. Set aside. Prepare a medium sized baking sheet (with sides) with parchment paper that overhangs on two sides. Set aside.
2. Start two double boilings. Using two medium sized heat safe bowls place them over medium pots with about 2 inches of water. Place the heat safe bowls overtop the pots and bring to a boil. Make sure that the bowls are not touching the water.
3. Once the water is boiling, turn off the heat and pour the dark chocolate chips into one bowl, and the white chocolate chips into the second bowl. It is easiest to do this with two people. Constantly stir (with two separate spoons) the chocolate chips until they are all melted in both bowls. If you want to add peppermint oil, you can add it to one of the chocolates at this step but it's optional
4. Take the melted dark chocolate and pour it into the bottom of the prepared baking sheet, spreading it until it covers the bottom. Quickly repeat the process with the white chocolate overtop of the dark chocolate. Spreading it out until it creates a second later. You can swirl the two chocolate together but I prefer them separate.
5. Immediately sprinkle the crushed peppermint candies on top of the chocolate. Lightly pressing with into the chocolate. This allows the candy to set in the chocolate when it hardens and not fall off. Then, place the baking sheet into the fridge for 2 hours.
6. After 2 hours, remove baking sheet from fridge. Let it sit out for 5-10 minutes, then break up the chocolate bark into irregular pieces until desired size.
7. ENJOY!

S'mores Bark

1. Follow steps 1-4. Except in step one place your graham crackers in a ziplock freezer bag and crush them until small pieces. Set aside.
2. Sprinkle the graham cracker pieces, mini marshmallows and milk chocolate chips on top of the chocolate. Lightly press in the toppings so they set into the chocolate when it hardens. Optional: Use a butane baker's torch to lightly brown the mini marshmallows.
3. Place the baking sheet into the fridge for 2 hours. After 2 hours, remove baking sheet from fridge. Let it sit out for 5-10 minutes, then break up the chocolate bark into irregular pieces until desired size.
4. ENJOY!

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