For a few years now, I've been working on perfecting my peppermint bark recipe, with the twinned goals of deliciousness and minimal labor. I thought I had the formula just right this time:
- 2 bars Green & Black's white chocolate
- 2 bars Green & Black's mint chocolate
- small package Annie's chocolate bunny grahams
- a couple of scoops of tiny peppermint candies from the candy store
Unfortunately, I ran into a couple of problems when assembling my ingredients:
- The grocery store did not have G&B's white chocolate, so I had to buy the much more expensive bars at the health food store.
- I accidentally bought dark chocolate rather than mint chocolate
- I couldn't find chocolate bunny grahams anywhere and had to settle for Newman's Own chocolate alphabet cookies, which contain palm oil and left me feeling guilty about the rain forests
- the peppermint candies from the candy store were not as tiny as I had remembered
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj5IiemIcpUhjoET5vN3vbEyoj3amk0dI_VVYViPXTqX3bLiNkhjqWlrBkt27409lMET53uBCgLxJTMmy46V3XOdcchvMVcyRsPj0zvL-QXjz_LuXT_i9PsfeLpWIlUtrhyqwWbPme8oVN/s640/IMG_1052.JPG)
Undeterred by these setbacks, I forged ahead. My first time-saving plan was to break up the first bar of white chocolate and melt it on the pan in the oven. I pictured the pieces getting all soft and gooey, and easily spread with a spatula. Unfortunately, they turned brown and crunchy and not at all melty.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyoUU7TIB_7GLY9x-xG6E3kAqztSxZQgii5N_187oFmre42dTJ1DGk7DsFFpTAzQP3stgM6RLnUs_Nk0zV-A3oAsTsrqxbKku7fIxLGB-dlAfpVkxTijowqmCsv_TRyE2kRGk6DMutYHbc/s640/IMG_1053.JPG)
Not willing to waste that pricey bar of white chocolate, I transferred the brown chunks to a hot water bath and added a couple scoops of coconut oil to help smooth out the mixture as it melted.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzSWQ-YKWCqhOUAUpEa8vsvGl3u0T_3I8jz0H1ETgCnMgDVCS5k1kKFrtuKndg_tYrPABz77ElWRWubGPRfAJnOf32I3aDXurxGBLZVYZ0u4jtK77YDl26Aa2wW4ijSEPa4qTNfa0yBIPe/s640/IMG_1058.JPG)
I then smashed up a couple tablespoons of the not-quite-small-enough-to-use-whole peppermint candies and added them to the white chocolate to help disguise the brown color, and spread it all on a sheet of parchment and placed the pan outside in the cold to firm up.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3-9XnVwAEra8psO3JpAQmdlQbzKcqh5iJbJxvNEIX0SFvDibsDoebaZB_NcyzqZt3_i9nWmIbPBLM_eURP3OoWvTQNt_e2ZBkiksRkIm-XSIDGDWBnF2T_B46csCSbMiharV45c32szrb/s640/IMG_1057.JPG)
I then placed both chocolate bars in a hot water bath and Z helped me bash up the cookies, right in the bag (with a small hole to let out air) with a hammer. I added several drops of mint flavor to the melted chocolate (a step I could have skipped had I bought the mint bars) as well as the cookie crumbs, spread the whole mixture over the first layer of light
brown white chocolate, and placed the tray back outside.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAfNEZAMQxfh4QvxpfuQxpQpTwDq5Zp3krnt8a_7xveokZ-pNim5xXE4mcqlYFMwtoVGD8uvMAEhmukW8Jw5tOuaT63yLV4sz2RH6MKDQQn2-lcDvYC5zSS6MtgwT7o0oLGHTerbOJlXca/s640/IMG_1060.JPG)
Then I melted the last bar of white chocolate (in a hot water bath, having learned my lesson), added a few more spoonfuls of crushed peppermints, and spread it over the hardened chocolate layer. Over the top, I sprinkled more mint candies, not bothering to smash those up, which I think might have been a mistake, because the final result is a lot for the teeth to handle.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqPkS-vuhyphenhyphenDi30SB3pCj9VvthXvqPCFZWKzXQyhezkkaN_xubh6I7MmO1ydDlFCEM_dlbUsT_qn8JPzPROGwmNFDGsWZ7MaxoL81Jo2oXEp0n8f-ztwv2Ls-aYRg9baoST7ysSCGxG-kAW/s640/IMG_1062.JPG)
I placed the tray outside one last time for a few minutes and then transferred it to the refrigerator while we all went to go see Fantastic Beasts. When we got home, I broke the bark into hunks and squirreled it away for holiday season munching.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhffY0BBhMCbpfUFiK3OKCl949Rqn8SHuGdBhw9NNAjfXJYoWJ3qlH5mDNUpfgtTWcS2UaDiwpTwRP7IjBGoM_BnCusb6vUcfNTeVwcdhKjyQ5SO6MG4dv3i-paN_ZaPO_E0CSfVq3fdXuh/s640/IMG_1088.JPG)
And the best part about the bark being not-quite-perfect? We'll have to eat it all ourselves, in the privacy of our home, where no one else can see the brown layer, or break a tooth on the over-large peppermint bits, or notice how the chocolate cookies end up a little more soggy and less crunchy than the bunny grahams would have.
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