Holiday dessert season has begun.  It’s a fact of life.  You’ve just got to have sweets around for the Holidays, even if for the rest of the year you generally don’t bother with them.  We’re no exception here and we’re kicking off the sweetest season of the year with something that’s not only sinfully delicious, but amazingly simple to make. One of my wife’s personal favorites, Peppermint Bark, but with a little twist.

Peppermint bark is usually made in bars, or simply shattered off of a large sheet like a brittle.  This version is a bit more… Structured.  The bark is poured between a pair of tiny candy canes shaped into a heart.  Cute, yes?  We thought so too.  Unfortunately I can’t claim the idea as my own, we saw it in the Pillsbury circular.  It just looked like a really fun thing to do.

These take nearly no time to put together, but they definitely don’t suffer in appeal.  The kids can help put them together, though I’d leave the chocolate depositing to either an older child or an adult, but as far as decorating goes, let the little ones at it.  They’ll have a blast, and you get help with the candy making.

Peppermint Bark Hearts

Ingredients:

• 26 peppermint candy canes (2 1/2 inch)
• 6oz. vanilla flavored candy coating (Bark Bars), chopped
• 2 tsp. peppermint candies or candy canes, crushed

Method:

Line cookie sheet with waxed paper.  Arange candy canes on paper in groups of 2 in a heart shape.
*NOTE: We noticed that in every group of two candy canes, one was longer than the other.  This pattern seemed to repeat, so a little mixing and matching of canes may be required.

In a 2 cup or larger microwave safe bowl, microwave candy coating uncovered on Medium (50% power) for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring once halfway through cooking time, until softened.  Stir until smooth and completely melted.

Spoon or pipe candy coating into centers of hearts to fill spaces.  Smooth with a toothpick or bamboo skewer.  Sprinkle with crushed candy canes.  Cool at room temperature for 30 minutes or until set.

What I would have done differently had I thought of it at the time:

I would suggest adding a little peppermint extract to the candy coating and maybe skipping the crushed candy.  They’re messy and can easily get stuck in teeth.

According to my wife, we’re going to give this a go with chocolate candy coating as well, since she likes chocolate and peppermint together.  I’ll have to get back to you on that one.

Links to other recipes like this one:

• Peppermint Bark Recipe, from Simply Recipes Guest Author Garret McCord
• Layered Peppermint Bark, from Gluten Free Gobsmacked
• Dark Peppermint Bark, from Just Braise