peppermint bark

Christmas is rabidly approaching which means it's time for holiday baking! yay! The ball is already rolling at my house. Mom and I made a trip to Costco and our pantry is stocked in bulk with flour, butter, sugar, brown sugar, cocoa, dried milk, white chocolate, milk chocolate, dark chocolate, and mason jars. We've decided to make cookies in a jar and cocoa mix in a jar for family, friends, and select professors. Those recipes will be coming soon but this is what I chose to make when my friends at school decided to have a Christmas party. This recipe is simple, it makes a big batch, and every one loves it. Which I think qualifies it as a great holiday treat.
this recipe is actually a happy accident. My mom bought peppermint flavored Andes chips. I thought they were just normal crushed peppermints when I opened the bag I was sorely disappointed but I decided to throw them in any way. The results were good. You get peppermint flavor in every bite and you don't have to worry about the peppermint pieces not sticking or falling off when you bite into the bark.

Peppermint Bark

1 pound dark chocolate (60% cocoa works great)
1 pound white chocolate
1 cup Andes peppermint pieces

Melt the dark chocolate in a double boiler or a glass bowl set over a pot full of water. Spread the melted chocolate onto a parchment lined cookie sheet. Place the chocolate in the freezer for 20 minutes. Meanwhile melt the white chocolate in the same way let it cool slightly and then pour in the Andes chips. Remove the dark chocolate from the freezer and pour the white chocolate over the dark chocolate. Spread the white chocolate in an even layer over the dark making sure to work quickly so the two chocolates don't mix. Place the bark in the freezer for another 20 minutes. When the bark is chilled remove it from the freezer if you want neat little squares thaw the bark and then slice with a knife if you want rough shards of bark then while the bark is still frozen take the slab and drop it on the counter until the pieces are the desired size.