Peppermint Bark is a classic Christmas candy with just three ingredients! This easy candy bark with white chocolate, dark chocolate and a touch of peppermint is a great gift for everyone on your list.
The best gifts are gifts you can eat. Do you agree?
SAVE THIS EASY CANDY BARK RECIPE TO YOUR FAVORITE PINTEREST BOARD!
Chocolate Peppermint Bark is one of the easiest Christmas treats to make. You don’t need any special equipment or baking skills. You don’t even need to turn on the stove! It takes 10 minutes to make with 3 simple ingredients
But did I mention yet how delicious this peppermint bark tastes? The combination of rich dark chocolate and sweet white chocolate is totally irresistible—especially paired with crunchy peppermint bits on top.
It’s the perfect Christmas candy to give away as gifts or bring to the office holiday party. Put it in a mason jar tied with a pretty ribbon, decorative cellophane bags or arrange it in Christmas cookie tins and you have an instant homemade gift. That is, if you can resist gobbling up the whole batch yourself.
You won’t be able to eat just one piece. That’s why I love to make a few batches of this recipe. You’ll have plenty to share with family and friends, plus a stash of your own to nibble on while you wrap presents and trim the tree.
This 3 ingredient Old Fashioned Potato Candy will make another great gift for the holidays, too!
What is Peppermint Bark?
Peppermint Bark is a homemade candy made from melted chocolate and topped with crushed candy canes. The most popular versions like Williams Sonoma Peppermint Bark, including today’s candy bark, are made with both white AND dark chocolate for a perfect rich flavor.
What do I need to make bark candy?
Some recipes call for all kinds of extra flavor add-ins and specialty chocolates. For our Peppermint Bark recipe, we keep it simple:
- Dark chocolate chips – you can also use milk chocolate or semi-sweet chocolate chips if you’d prefer.
- White chocolate chips
- Candy canes – Or use any other hard peppermint candies crushed into pieces.
No bells and whistles. Just the pure goodness of chocolate and peppermint!
How do I make this recipe similar to Ghirardelli Peppermint Bark?
It’s easy! Just follow these simple steps.
First step, line a cookie sheet with a sheet of wax paper or a piece of parchment paper.
Place the candy canes or peppermint candy into a zip-top bag and crush with a rolling pin or food processor.
Next, you’re going to melt your chocolate.
Place the dark chocolate chips into a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave the dark or semisweet chocolate for 45 seconds. Stir.
If the chocolate isn’t fully melted after stirring, microwave it for another 10 seconds. Stir and repeat until the chocolate is smooth and combined.
Follow the same method for the white chocolate layer by melting the white chocolate chips. Stir half of the peppermint pieces into the white chocolate.
Now pour the melted dark chocolate onto the parchment in the prepared baking pan. Use the back of your spoon to spread it into an even layer. Pour the melted white chocolate mixture on top, spreading carefully to cover the whole pan.
Sprinkle the remaining candy cane bits on top. Chill the bark in the refrigerator for about 10 minutes. When the chocolate is hardened, slice the bark into smaller pieces and enjoy!
What types of chocolate are best for peppermint bark?
Any kind of chocolate chips, chocolate bark or baking morsels will work well in this recipe. Know that when you use high quality chocolate though, the better your finished candy bark will taste.
I prefer the flavor of the dark or semi-sweet chocolate paired with the sweeter white chocolate. If you want a sweeter tasting bark, feel free to use milk chocolate morsels instead of semi-sweet.
You can also use chocolate melting wafers instead of morsels, if preferred. The peppermint bark will set up a little softer, but still delicious!
How to Store Homemade Peppermint Bark
Chocolate Peppermint Bark is best stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container. It stays good for up to 3 weeks in a cool place. But in my house it always gets eaten a lot sooner!
Need to leave it out at room temperature? No problem. There are no ingredients in this bark prone to spoiling, it just won’t stay tasting fresh as long. The bark is perfectly fine left out at room temperature for a few hours during your holiday party or gift exchange!
Peppermint Recipes
Christmas isn’t Christmas without plenty of candy canes and peppermint desserts!
Turn ordinary sugar cookies into a festive treat for the season with this recipe for Peppermint Frosted Sugar Cookies. You’ll love these Peppermint Sugar Cookie Cups too.
Chocolate and peppermint are one of my favorite flavor pairings for the winter holidays. These Easy Peppermint Brownie Bites have peppermint patties tucked inside! The combination reminds me of this Chocolate Peppermint Cream Pie, a chilled dessert based on my grandmother’s cream pie recipe.
The holidays give you a great excuse to eat cookies for breakfast. When you make biscotti, you can have cookies for breakfast any day! Try my Peppermint Chocolate Biscotti paired with a Peppermint White Chocolate Mocha for a sweet start to your morning.
When I don’t want to go to the trouble of making a whole peppermint mocha drink, I love having this Peppermint White Chocolate Coffee Creamer on hand. Just a splash can make a simple cup of brewed coffee taste as delicious as a coffee house specialty.
Holiday Favorite Desserts
Need a few more ideas to make your holiday season more delicious? Try a few more of the best reviewed holiday dessert recipes I’ve shared over the years.
- Christmas Sprinkle Cookies
- Chocolate M&M Christmas Cookies
- Stained Glass Cookies
- Peppermint Blossom Cookies
- Lace Cookies
- Viennese Crescents
- Easy Cranberry Pie
- Turtle Parfaits
- Ginger Molasses Snickerdoodles
3-Ingredient Recipes
- 3 Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies – Ready in Just 13 Minutes!
- Easy 3 Ingredient Chocolate Covered Cherries
- 3 Ingredient Sugar Free Peanut Butter Cookies
- 3 Ingredient Strawberry Sauce
- 2-Ingredient Nutella Cinnamon Rolls
Whatever is on your baking list this year, make some room for this festive Peppermint Bark! You’ll love this easy candy bark recipe for homemade gifts or as a delicious treat to share around the tree.
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Peppermint Bark Recipe
Ingredients
- 18 ounces dark chocolate chips can use semi-sweet or milk chocolate chips
- 18 ounces white chocolate chips
- ½ cup crushed candy canes or hard peppermint candies
Instructions
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Melt dark chocolate in a microwave safe dish for 45 seconds. Stir, then continue to heat in 10 second intervals, stirring in between, until completely melted.
- Melt white chocolate chips in a separate bowl in microwave following melting instructions above. Add ¼ cup of the crushed peppermint candies to the white chocolate and stir to combine.
- Pour melted dark chocolate onto parchment paper and spread evenly to about ¼ inch in thickness. Pour white chocolate on top and carefully spread over dark chocolate. Sprinkle with remaining ¼ cup crushed peppermints. Refrigerate for 10 minutes or until hard. Cut pieces with a sharp knife.
Comments & Reviews
Every thing looks delicious.
I was looking for a simple recipe and this is it! Thank you!
Thank you, Terry. Enjoy it!
Hi! Did you use white chocolate chips for this? It was a disaster melting the white chocolate chips, I tried the microwave and also double boiler methods and both resulted in seized up white chocolate. After some googling I realized I should have used a high quality bar of white chocolate or candy melts. This isn’t a negative review as I love the simplicity of this recipe, more of a question of method? Was so bummed when this didn’t turn out. Second question — do you wait for the dark chocolate to harden before adding the white? It all seemed to mix together as I didn’t wait per the instructions.
The only thing I would change about this recipe is, I would put the prices of peppermint in between the layers. The prices fall off even after being in the fridge.
So delicious and easy! Dark chocolate was a great choice for the base. How do you get the white chocolate to stay separated? Mine ended up being a swirl!
best ever Christmas bark
Oh, Rick, thank you!! You made my day! I’m so glad you enjoyed it and so appreciate that you tool the time to let me know, and rate it. ❤️
Great recipe and tastes delicious. I think you need to refrigerate the first layer of dark chocolate for a minute before applying the white chocolate to achieve the layered effect though.. I followed these directions and mine started swirling together when spreading warm. I ended up having to stir it all together to look like milk chocolate!
My dark chocolate and white chocolate layers separated when I cut it into pieces. Any ideas?
Mary, that can happen if the layers are chilled for too long. It may be easier to chill or even let the dark chocolate set before spreading the white chocolate over it, but they won’t stay together. Also, you want to spread the white chocolate over the dark as soon as possible so that the bottom layer doesn’t set at all. If they harden, they won’t adhere to each other. Do you think that may have been the problem?