There are numerous views on the history of Valentine's Day. One is the story of Valentine, a physician also said to be a gastronomist, who made his medicines more palatable by mixing them with herbs, spices, honey, and wine. That’s my kind of doctor! At our house we celebrate by making Peppermint Bark. Peppermint Bark is one of my favorite recipes to make using child labor, I mean with my children in the kitchen. I mean what 8 year old boy doesn’t want to smash a bunch of candy canes into teeny weeny bits? At our kitchen it’s as much fun as cracking open the eggs. I always snag a few boxes of candy canes bought inexpensively after Christmas and store them in airtight container at room temperature until Valentine’s Day so we can make this for my children’s teachers. It looks great in a clear bag with a red/ white bow.
Peppermint Bark
Ingredients
- 1 (12 ounce) package White Morsels or white chocolate “bark”
- 24 peppermint candy canes bought cheap cheap after Christmas
Directions
LINE baking sheet with waxed paper.
MICROWAVE morsels in medium, microwave-safe bowl on MEDIUM-HIGH (70 percent) power for 1 minute; stir. Microwave at additional 10- to 20-second intervals, stirring until smooth.
PLACE peppermint candies in heavy-duty plastic bag. Crush candies using rolling pin or other heavy object. We started with the rolling pin and moved up to a heavy can of pasta sauce.
While holding strainer over melted morsels, pour crushed candy into strainer. Shake to release all small candy pieces; reserve larger candy pieces. Stir morsel-peppermint mixture.
SPREAD mixture to desired thickness on prepared baking sheet. We made ours too thick. It nearly took dropping a bowling ball on it to shatter it so about half the depth of a cookie sheet would probably be good. Sprinkle with reserved candy pieces; press in lightly. Let stand for about 1 hour or until firm, we put ours in the fridge to speed it up a little. Break into pieces. Store in airtight container at room temperature.
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