Homemade Peppermint Bark
Food gifts are popular items in Christmas gift catalogs and fancy tins of peppermint bark are often one of the favorites. But did you know you can save money and just make your own peppermint bark instead? Yes you can, and with only three ingredients and very little effort too!
How To Make Your Own Peppermint Bark
The three ingredients you will need for this peppermint bark recipe are white baking chips (2 bags), candy canes (12 of them) and some peppermint extract (a ½ teaspoon). The steps below will show how to put it all together.
Step 1: Process the Candy Canes
The first step is to get those candy canes all broken up into smaller bits. In fact you might spend the most time on this recipe unwrapping all your candy canes! Once they’re all unwrapped, you’ll break each candy cane into a few pieces, place them in your food processor, and then pulse them into nice little minty bits. You should have about a ½ cup of peppermint pieces after processing the candy canes.
Step 2: Melt the Chips
Next you’ll melt the white chips. Empty both bags into a large microwave-safe bowl, and microwave for 1 minute, stir, and then heat for one minute more. Stir until the melted chips are all smoothly stirred together.
Step 3: Add the Extract and Candy Pieces
Stir the peppermint extract and the candy cane pieces into the melted chips.
Step 4: Spread in a Baking Sheet
Now that all the ingredients have been mixed together, you can spread the mixture onto a large baking sheet (about a 10×15 size) that’s been lined with parchment paper. I use the back of my spoon to spread the mixture around, and you might need to use your other hand to hold the parchment paper steady as you work on this step.
Step 5: Chill and then Break into Pieces
Once the mixture has been spread around on the baking sheet, place it in the refrigerator for about an hour to harden up. After it’s hardened, you can break your peppermint bark into pieces.
I love that this homemade peppermint bark looks fancy and festive, but can be made with just three ordinary ingredients and just a few minutes of hands-on effort. It can be a helpful quick and easy recipe for the busy holiday season!
(AND – this recipe is easy to adapt to this Dark Chocolate Bark version too!)
Homemade Peppermint Bark
Equipment:
- Food Processor
- Microwave Safe Mixing Bowl (I use glass)
- Large Baking pan (I use 10×15)
- Parchment Paper
Ingredients:
- 2 Bags White Baking Chips (11 oz)
- 12 Regular Size Candy Canes
- 1/2 tsp Peppermint Extract
Instructions:
- Line a large baking pan with parchment paper and set aside. (I use a 10×15 pan)
- Unwrap all the candy canes and break each one into a few pieces. Place the pieces in the food processor and pulse a few times to chop them into small pieces. You should have about a 1/2 cup of pieces when you are done processing.
- Pour the two bags of white baking chips into a large microwave safe bowl. Heat in the microwave for 1 minute, stir, then heat for 1 minute more. The chips should now be melty enough to stir into a smooth consistency.
- Add the 1/2 teaspoon of peppermint extract and the candy cane pieces to the melted white chocolate. Stir well to combine.
- Spoon the mixture onto the parchment paper lined pan and spread it out evenly. Then place in the refrigerator for about an hour so the mixture can harden up.
- Once the mixture is hardened, lift it off the parchment paper and crack it into pieces.
Notes:
This is a great recipe. I didn’t have any peppermint extract, unfortunately. It needs it, I think. My family really enjoyed it. It was so easy to make too! Thanks for the great recipe!
Yes, even though the crushed candy canes give it some peppermint flavor, the added extract gives a nice additional flavor boost too.
Thank you for amazing recipe. It was easy and delicious. I used Ghirardelli white chips. This will be an every year Christmas make. 😊
I have also utilized white baking bark, which a lot of the time is cheaper than the chips! Great recipe 😉
I have a question. What are white baking chips? Are they white chocolate chips? Or is it something else?
Elizabeth – The store brand of white chips that I often buy are actually called “vanilla flavored” which is why I didn’t want to call them “white chocolate chips” in the recipe. The white chips are sold in the same type of bag and in the same area as the chocolate chips, but they are not usually labeled as white chocolate.
However, there are some bags of chips out there (such as the Ghiradelli brand) that are in fact labeled as white chocolate and I think you could use them in the recipe and still have a tasty final product.
Hope that helps (and that I just didn’t make things more confusing!)
No, you didn’t confuse the issue. Thanks so much! I want to try my hand at this, but wanted to be clear so that I didn’t mess it up. I love this site, by the way!
Thanks again, and please, keep up the great work here!