Holiday season is in full swing and I couldn’t be happier! I wish there was more time between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Life is just way too busy to sit down and enjoy this time of the year as often as I would like sometimes. Although one of the nice things about being pregnant (among soo many others) is that it has forced me to slow down. I mean, sometimes, it’s really slow. I can’t imagine my snail pace when I’m 30 weeks. haha!
One of the unfortunate things about the holiday craziness is that most of us don’t get to spend nearly enough quality time baking up all the goodies we long for each year. Yes, we might find a day or two to make a few batches of cookies, but I am talking good, quality, christmas music on, dancing and twirling to the sounds of the season, and the oven door opening and closing with batches of delicious treats. And since this is our ideal situation, how about we call a maid to come clean up all the dishes while we sit down with a cup of coffee and enjoy all that “hard” work. Sigh….wouldn’t that be the life.
It’s a good thing this bark is quick and easy and allows you some time back in your day to get that last-minute shopping down. One thing I usually don’t like about chocolate barks is that it’s usually all chocolate except for the toppings. I know that’s what it’s mainly supposed to be, but I really liked the addition of chocolate wafers in this recipe. It gave a nice crunch to each bite to break up the layers. If you are a big mint fan, you would flavor one of the melted chocolates with a little peppermint extract, but I preferred just the Andes Mint chips on top. It had a nice balance of both chocolate and mint. A perfect after dinner dessert while you are trimming the tree or wrapping gifts.
Mint Chocolate Chip Bark
Recipe adapted from Baker’s Royale
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup Andes Mint Chips
- 1 cup dark chocolate chip morsels
- 3/4 – 1 cup crushed chocolate wafers
- 6 oz white chocolate baking squares
- 1-2 drops green food color (add slowly)
Directions
1. Line a small baking sheet with wax paper. Place crushed chocolate wafers in a small bowl and set aside.
2. Place dark chocolate in a heat proof bowl over a simmering water (not boiling) and stir frequently until melted. Pour melted chocolate onto baking sheet and using an offset spatula, smooth chocolate until even and desired thickness is achieved. Immediately sprinkle crushed chocolate wafers over melted chocolate and press down slightly. Place pan in refrigerator for 5-10 minutes or until chocolate becomes slightly hard.
3. Place white chocolate in a small heat proof safe bowl over simmering (not boiling) water and stir frequently until melted. Remove from heat. Add 1 drop of green food color at a time until desired “mint” color is achieved. (I didn’t add slowly and was a little heavy-handed on my green).
4. Remove pan from refrigerator and pour melted white chocolate on top. Smooth chocolate with an offset spatula until an even layer is formed on top. Sprinkle Andes Mint chips over white chocolate. Return pan to refrigerator for another 10-15 minutes or until bark is full set.
Notes:
- For the chocolate wafers I used Oreo’s. I scraped off the filling and just used the chocolate wafer. They worked great if you don’t have chocolate wafers on hand or want to save some money.
