How did this stuff come about, you ask? Oh, you didn't ask...well, I'm going to tell you anyway. Mostly because I'm excited I created this all on my own! Yes, I know, there are similar recipes out there, and probably one exactly like this one if I look hard enough. But I won't. Because I like thinking I'm a genius for creating something so outstanding. So, if you would humor me, I would appreciate it.
Last night my infamous sweet tooth came calling. I didn't have anything to satisfy him and didn't want to make anything that would take any sort of effort (laziness will either kill me or make me skinny...so I hope anyway). Then I remembered that I had tried some peppermint bark at Costco last week and instead of paying a small fortune for theirs, had bought some ingredients that I thought would probably make some of my own. I had planned to look up different recipes and figure out how to make that yummy stuff. Did I? No, again Senor Lazy came into play.
But last night Lazy just wasn't going to get out of satisfying my sweet tooth. So, this is what I came up with...and let me tell you, it's...amazing.
Peppermint Pretzel Bark
2 cups chocolate chips (I love dark chocolate so I had semi-sweet that I used...you could do milk chocolate if you wanted)
2 tsp vegetable shortening (or oil...this helps the chocolate to harden)
pretzels (I didn't measure these...just use as many as you need to cover the chocolate)
2 cups white chocolate chips
1/2-1 cup Andes peppermint chips (these are only available during the holidays...I got mine at walmart. Go, get some...grab a couple. I put them in my hot chocolate too, for a peppermint mocha...yum)
Gather up your ingredients. I buy large bags of chocolate chips at Costco and then separate them into 2-3 cup portions and freeze. I wish they had the peppermint chips in huge bags! You will also need a cookie sheet. Here I used the small one that fits into my toaster oven, just in case this didn't turn out as well as I hoped. Now I wish I would have used the full size cookie sheet (by the way, the recipe is for a full sized 9x13 cookie sheet, so don't worry about having to double the recipe).
You want to melt your chocolate chips with the vegetable shortening in a double boiler (or, if you don't have anything that fancy, use a pan filled 1/2 way with water. Get the water to boiling and then take a smaller pan and sit over the larger one. This keeps the chocolate from scorching by not having it over direct heat. Trust me, do it this way. I used to think I could just keep the flame on low and melt the chocolate over the flame, but it doesn't work well. I promise. Learn from my disasters.)
In a few short moments you will have melted chocolate. Take the chocolate off the boiling water as soon as you notice all the chips have melted. You don't want to cook the chocolate, just melt it. (You could probably do this in a microwave too, but we don't have one.)
Spread the melted chocolate on the bottom of a non-stick cookie sheet. If your sheet isn't non-stick, or it used to be but, like most of mine, is so old it now sticks, use wax paper to line the bottom of the cookie sheet.
Now add pretzels. Press very gently so that they are stuck in the chocolate. You don't want them pressed all the way down, just enough so they aren't lying there all loosey goosey...you want them to stay in place. Now melt the white chocolate the same way you did the dark.
Spread the white chocolate over the pretzels (carefully so as to not upset the pretzels...it doesn't have to be super smooth, that's the charm of chocolate bark, it just needs to cover the pretzels and dark chocolate). Then sprinkle as much, or as little, of the Andes Peppermint chips on the top and gently press them into the white chocolate. Place in the freezer for about 30 minutes so that the chocolate hardens.
And that's it! Soooo easy! Once the chocolates have hardened, use a butter knife to go around the edges of the bark to loosen (or if you used wax paper, just peel it off). Then break into pieces, or for a more uniform look, cut into squares.
Try not to eat it all at once. But I won't judge you if you do.
This would also make a great little Christmas gift all tied up in a pretty bag or box.
Happily Homemade
Sandra
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