Mint Chocolate Bark

All bark. All bite.

Fast, easy, and fun to make, especially during the busy holiday season.

I think bark is one of those treats that look better when they're homemade. Wouldn't you agree?

These cuties make for wonderful stocking stuffers, part of a gift package, or a fun DIY project for kids. You can mix and match different types of chocolates, candies, and nuts.

I was in a minty kind of a mood, so I paired a layer of semisweet and milk chocolate with another layer of dark chocolate and mint chips. Luckily, I found these amazing dark chocolate and mint candy canes to go on the top of the bark. I love when my foods are color-coordinated. :D



So let me show you, step-by-step, how this is done.

First, prepare the ingredients:

- 1 Cup semi-sweet chocolate chips and 1/2 Cup milk chocolate chips, mixed in a bowl
- 1 1/2 Cups mix of dark chocolate and mint chocolate chips, in a different bowl, plus more for decorating
- 3 candy canes
- a scant handful of white chocolate chips

1. Prepare a 9x9in baking pan by covering it with aluminum foil. No worries about greasing the foil.



2. Melt the semi-sweet and milk chocolate in a microwave, in 30-second intervals, until soft and barely retaining their original shape. Pour the chocolate mix into the prepared pan.

3. Using the back of a spoon, gently swirl the chocolate chips, like so. The slight marblization will show up beautifully on the bottom of the bark.



 4. Microwave the bowl of dark chocolate and mint chips in 30-second intervals, until melted just enough. Pour carefully onto the layer of semi-sweet and milk chocolate. Spread evenly.

 5. Sprinkle extra dark chocolate and mint chips to the top of the mixture, along with the white chocolate.

 6. Prepare the candy canes, wrappers peeled and discarded, on a cutting board.

 7. Chop the candy canes, using a knife in a slow pressing motion, rather than a chopping motion. (You can think of it more as cracking the candy rather than cutting the candy) If you'd like, you can also use the food processor. I tried it, but the food processor left too much of the sticky candy crumbs, so I decided to chop them myself.

*Be careful!! Pieces of sharp candy can fly in every which direction, so be extra cautious*

 Pretty pretty candy cane pieces :)

 8. The candy cane pieces go on top, and the entire pan is refrigerated until the mixture is hardened, about 30 minutes or more.


9.Lift the aluminum foil and the hardened bark out of the pan, and peel the foil off from the chocolate. Cut the bark into pieces.







Feel free to experiment with different flavor combinations! Some good ideas include:

- cappuccino chips + milk chocolate
- dark chocolate + orange jelly candies
- dark chocolate + raspberry flavored chips
- semi-sweet chocolate + toffee bits + swirls of fudge
- white chocolate + Oreo cookie bits
- white chocolate + maple extract
- milk chocolate + M&Ms

The possibilities are ENDLESS....so have fun!