Peppermint Bark

Even though the holidays are coming to an end I couldn't resist making some peppermint bark.  I got this recipe from allrecipes.com which is one of my favorite websites ever! You can book mark your favorite recipes in a recipe book, so you can go back and look at them.  I think it's brilliant!  Anyway that is where I got this recipe and it turned out really delicious.  Luckily I went to the movies today with my friends and I was able to give them all little baggies filled with it, so I don't eat it all myself. I think the hardest part of this recipe was crunching up the peppermint candies.  I literally had to use a hammer.  I unwrapped the candy, put it into a ziploc bag and just crushed the bejeezus out of it.  I may have overdone the crushing because the candies became a little to powdery.  I wish I had kept larger chunks.  I also noticed that it might be easier to use candy canes.  I think the coloring would be better because there is more red in candy canes.  I also had to line a 9x9 pan with wax paper so the chocolate wouldn't get stuc on the pan (makes for easy clean up).  Ok so the original recipe calls for using a double boiler to melt the chocolate, but I just used the microwave.  It works just as well.  I took 8 oz of semisweet chocolate and put it into a microwaveable bowl.  I microwaved it for 30 seconds first then I added just a little bit of canola oil.  I put it back in the microwave and waited another 30 seconds.  I took it out and started to stir it.  If you don't stir it the chocolate can burn and become clumpy.  I put in a 1/4 teaspoon of peppermint extract and put the chocolate in the microwave for another 15 seconds.  I took it out and just stirred until the chocolate was smooth.  I poured the chocolate into the wax paper covered pan. I used a spoon to spread the chocolate out.  I then put half of the crushed peppermint candies on top of the chocolate layer

the original recipe said to let the chocolate cool for an hour, but I don't have that kind of patience so I just popped it in the fridge while I melted the white chocolate.  For the white chocolate I did the exact same thing as the semi sweet chocolate.  Microwaved it for 30 seconds added a little canola oil, put it back in for 30 seconds, stirred in 1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract and microwaved a final 15 seconds.  After the white chocolate was smooth and melted I poured it on top of the semi sweet chocolate in small sections so it was easier to spread (ex. puring the chocolate in each of the corners and the center then connecting them with a spoon.  After it was smooth I put the remaining crushed peppermint candies on top and let it sit.  If you want it to harden quicker, put it in the fridge.  After its solid lift the wax paper out and break the bark into pieces.  It was a little painful breaking the bark because the candy pieces were so sharp, but I survived.  Anyway I didn't have any problem with the two chocolates separating and it turned out delicious :)

Ingredients
8 oz semi sweet chocolate
2 teaspoons canola oil (divided)
1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract (divided)
25 peppermint candies