Peanut Butter Bark

First of all, Happy Christmas Eve! Andy and I are in Goshen, Indiana (right outside Chicago) spending a few days with family before we move on. I'm glad we are getting to see some family on this cross-country trip, especially since we are traveling right over Christmas.

This is the third and final recipe for chocolate bark. The other two can be found here and here. If you have chocolate and peanut butter on hand this could be a fun thing to make with your family today. Or...maybe you are busy with other things. Either way, this could also be a good Easter bark!

Peanut Butter Bark
16 oz. (or 2 cups) of white chocolate (chips or candy melts)
1 1/2 cups peanut butter
8 oz. (or 1 cup) dark or milk chocolate (chips or candy melts)

Start by laying some wax paper over a cookie sheet. Next, melt the peanut butter and white chocolate either in a double boiler or in the microwave. Separately melt the dark chocolate in the microwave. Pour the melted white chocolate and peanut butter mixture into the cookie sheet and spread it out with a spatula. Take the melted dark chocolate and drizzle it in lines over the peanut butter mixture. Then, take a knife and drag it through the chocolate the opposite way of the chocolate lines to marbleize it.


That is it. It is an elegant and easy way to make bark. You can also use the marbleizing affect with icing to decorate cakes or cookies. It is much simpler to do than it looks.

Enjoy...and Merry Christmas tomorrow!

Peppermint Bark

Last week I wrote about making chocolate bark with the leftovers of chocolate that I have from my business. I made three different kinds and boxed them up for friends. It was easy and fun, and I've never made bark before. I'm telling you, it is probably the easiest kind of chocolate candy to make out there. You really can't screw it up.

One of the main joys of bark (other than it being chocolate) is that you break it into pieces. Of course, you can cut it or mold it, but the broken rough edges are what makes it fun and kind of artsy/rustic.

For this recipe I used dark chocolate on the bottom and white chocolate on top. You can do that, or just keep it all white chocolate. The all white chocolate route would definitely be quicker and much simpler. I personally like dark chocolate better though, so I wanted to include it. I also like the contrasting look of the dark brown, white, and bits of red. So pretty!

Peppermint Bark
-2 cups white chocolate chips or candy melts
-2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips or candy melts
-about 1 cup of crushed candycanes

Cover a cookie sheet with with a layer of wax paper. Melt the semi-sweet (dark) chocolate chips either in the microwave or in a double boiler. (Be careful not to burn the chocolate in the microwave. Heat for 20 seconds then stir. Keep doing that until it is all melted.) Spread melted chocolate evenly onto the cookie sheet. Let it cool and harden. Melt the white chocolate and pour it onto the dark chocolate sheet. Spread it evenly. Sprinkle the crushed candy canes over the white chocolate.

Voila! You're done. Now wrap em up, make em pretty and give them as gifts.

Christmas Packages

I've been busy! I closed down the chocolate business about a month ago, but my chocolate making hasn't ceased. When I closed the business I still had about 40 pounds of chocolate left...what to do with 40 pounds of chocolate?! Make candy and give it to your friends of course!

I decided on making bark to send to people. Chocolate bark is easy, tasty, pretty, and uses a LOT of chocolate. Which is the theme of my Christmas chocolate making, to use lots of chocolate! I don't want to be moving 40 pounds of chocolate across the country in one months time.

Most people would be thrilled to have 40 pounds of chocolate, but not me. I love chocolate, sometimes I even dream about it, but not 40 pounds of it. 40 pounds is overwhelming, it's heavy, it makes me feel sick thinking about eating it all. (Which I will do if I don't get rid of it. If you see me 40 pounds heavier in 6 months you'll know why.)

Bark was so much fun to make. And boxing it all pretty with one of our Christmas cards just made me plain old happy. In the following weeks I'll post some easy bark recipes that you can make for yourself. You'll have to buy the chocolate from the store though...because I'm sure you don't have FORTY pounds of it laying around. Really, I wish I could give you some of this chocolate!