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This easy Peppermint Bark is such a fun holiday treat – layers of dark and white chocolate, flavoured with peppermint and dusted with crushed candy canes. You only need four ingredients and it makes a great homemade, gluten free Christmas gift.
Notes On This Peppermint Bark Recipe
- Why choose this recipe? This Peppermint Bark recipe is a classic Christmas treat which popular in the US – though recently M&S bought out their own version which went viral! After the popularity of my gluten free peppermint bark cookies, I had to give it a go. It’s sweet, crunchy, and ridiculously easy to make.
- 4 Ingredients: All you need to make this recipe is dark and white chocolate, mint-flavour candy canes and peppermint extract. That’s it – and all coeliac-safe.
- So Easy: I don’t think the method for this peppermint bark recipe could get any easier: melt chocolate, pour chocolate, sprinkle on candy canes, chill.
- Great For Kids: If you need a child-friendly activity for the school holidays, this is it. Kids will love crushing up the candy canes and pouring out the chocolate.
Table of Contents
Ingredients and Substitutions
You only need four simple ingredients for this easy Peppermint Bark recipe, but here they are along with ideas for any swaps:
- Dark Chocolate: In the US use semisweet chocolate. I typically use a dark chocolate which is lower than 65% cocoa, so it’s not too bitter. Of course, you can use a higher cocoa percentage if you prefer this, or swap for milk chocolate for extra sweetness. Just ensure there are no ‘may contain’ warnings for gluten.
- White Chocolate: Again, ensure this is gluten free and check for ‘may contains’. For a dairy free recipe, make sure both your chocolates are vegan.
- Candy Canes: These are usually gluten free, but always double check. Be sure to buy peppermint candy canes as you can get all sorts of flavours.
- Peppermint Extract: If you don’t want it to be too minty, you can omit this. But adding peppermint extract to the white chocolate gives it a delicious mint chocolate flavour.
How to Make Peppermint Bark
This peppermint bark recipe is almost too easy, but to prove this, I’ve got some step-by-step photos to guide you how the process should look:
Storing Instructions
TO STORE: Once chilled, this peppermint bark is best stored in the fridge and will last several weeks. You can leave it at room temperature, but it will lose its ‘snap’ a bit.
Variations
This gluten free peppermint bark recipe is so simple, but there are ways you can mix it up a bit if you wanted to try something different. Ideas for variations include:
- Different Flavours: You can buy different flavoured candy canes (I found some strawberry ones in Aldi!) to change the flavours. Swap the peppermint extract for a flavour of choice or omit it for a straight-up chocolate flavour.
- Add More Layers: Add another layer of white chocolate on the bottom for a thicker slab – or spread it thinner on a larger baking tray with multiple players.
- Extra Decorations: Add some festive sprinkles of choice, or even some edible glitter for that extra ‘pizzazz’.
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are some FAQs about this easy peppermint bark recipe. If you can’t find the answer to your question here or in the post above, please comment and I’ll try answer!
I recommend only chilling the dark chocolate until *just* set before adding the melted white chocolate on top. This will help the layers adhere to each other.
The best way is to snap it! You can also use the tip of a knife to snap the chocolate – I find it looks best when you have uneven shards, rather than perfect squares.
This recipe is already gluten free – to make it vegan too, just ensure you use a dairy free or vegan chocolate.
Peppermint Bark Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 200 g white chocolate
- 200 g dark chocolate
- 0.25 tsp peppermint extract
- 4-5 peppermint candy canes
Instructions
- Crush the candy canes in a pestle and mortar (or in a bag, bashing them with a rolling pin) – you want a mixture of dust and very small pieces of candy cane.
- Melt the dark chocolate in a bowl over hot water. Line a baking tray with baking paper, then pour the chocolate onto this. Spread out using a palette knife or back of a spoon to around 5mm thick.
- Place the tray in the fridge (for max 10-15 mins until just starting to set – this should be ready by the time you’ve completed step 2)
- Melt the white chocolate in a bowl over hot water (or in the microwave). Stir in the peppermint extract.
- Remove the dark chocolate from the fridge – it should be firm but not completely solid. Pour the white chocolate over the top and spread over the top of the dark chocolate, being careful not to mix the two colours together.
- Sprinkle the crushed candy canes over the top, then place back in the fridge for at least 1-2 hours to set solid. Snap into pieces to serve!
Video
Nutrition
More Homemade Gift Ideas
If you like this peppermint bark recipe then make sure you check out these other gluten free recipes for homemade Christmas gifts too…
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