yum {peppermint bark}

Last year, I discovered Beth's recipe for peppermint bark.  We tried making a batch and were instantly hooked.  This stuff is addictive.  Seriously.

This Christmas we decided to share the yummy goodness, so I made several batches yesterday and packaged it up to give away to the mail carrier, teachers at school and at church, the trash collectors, neighbors. 

The recipe is so easy.  Head on over to Beth's blog and try it out for yourself.  The hardest part is finding peppermint extract, not just mint extract (although we've made it with mint extract and it came out fine).  And if you go to the grocery store during the holiday season and there is no baking chocolate to be had, the regular white chips work just fine - just make sure you've got 32 oz.

Note:  If you are clueless about melting chocolate like I was, DON'T let any water drops get into your chocolate while you are melting it.  This includes the peppermint extract, which you should not add until after the chocolate is all melted and smooth.  If you get water in your chocolate, the chocolate will seize and you will cry over the unsalvageable lump in your pot.  Other than that, you are good to go.  We do tweak the recipe a little bit - we substitute 1/2 lb of dark chocolate for 1/2 lb of the white.  We melt that first and freeze it, then continue with the recipe as usual and spread it on top of the dark chocolate layer.  Mmmm-mmm good!