Peppermint Bark Brittle

A cross between a classic peppermint bark and a crisp, crunchy brittle, this fabulous Peppermint Bark Brittle is addictingly delicious, easy to make and perfect for gifting!

What is Peppermint Bark Brittle? It may look and sound a little fancy but it's a super easy, super delicious confection that's almost impossible to stop eating. The base is made with melted chocolate that's combined with crisp chocolate cookie crumbs and bits of crunchy peppermint candy cane. It's topped with a drizzle of white chocolate and then more of the festive red and white peppermint.

Similar, but uniquely different

The result? A uniquely different treat than the beloved, super popular peppermint bark, but equally delicious. I actually enjoy this Peppermint Bark Brittle more than peppermint bark because it's not as dense and hard to bite into. Unless peppermint bark is made super thin (a little tricky), two layers of pure chocolate can be difficult on the teeth. This brittle on the other hand has the same flavor profile, but the cookie and peppermint bits keep the chocolate tender, crispy and melt-in-your-mouth delicious!

How to make this festive treat

The hands-on time for this recipe is less than 30 minutes, although it does need to chill before it's ready to enjoy or give away. This is how it works: line a sheet pan with foil and spray it with cooking spray. Crush some candy canes (or buy them already crushed) and some chocolate wafer cookies in zippered bags. I just put each of them in their own zippered bag and use the back of a soup spoon to crush everything into small bits. Not too fine as you want a bit of texture.

Next, a bowlful of chocolate chips is given several stints in the microwave with a good stir in between each session. Once the chocolate chips are melty and smooth, add the cookie and peppermint bits, give the mixture a good stir and pour it into the prepared pan. Smooth it out and you're ready to garnish with a drizzle of melted white chocolate and more crushed candy cane. That's it!

What kind of chocolate should I use for this Peppermint Bark Brittle?

You'll need both dark chocolate and a small amount of white chocolate for this recipe. For the dark chocolate, I tried different types and combinations from bittersweet (60% cacao) down to milk chocolate. Our favorite is a combination of half semi-sweet and half milk chocolate.

Since there are just a few ingredients in this Peppermint Bark Brittle, use good quality chocolate. You can use either bars of chocolate for this recipe or chocolate chips. I use Ghiradelli brand chocolate chips in both the semisweet and the milk chocolate varieties. They melt nicely and are easy to measure without needing a scale.

White chocolate, on the other hand, is a little trickier to melt and tends to seize and/or burn much easier than dark chocolate. While you can use white chocolate chips or white chocolate from a bar for this recipe, I found that white chocolate melting wafers or white chocolate bark (almond bark) make the job much easier. I really like Ghiradelli White Melting Wafers.

If you decide to use white chocolate chips, be sure to melt them on a lower power (50%) and stir frequently. If you don't have a microwave with a turntable (I don't), you'll need to rotate the bowl or glass several times during the melting process.

The perfect gift!

This Peppermint Bark Brittle makes a wonderful gift. It's pretty, packs well and the flavor combination is universally popular.

We've created a free printable label for gifting. If you'd like to use these festive labels, just leave us a comment in the comment section below this post. We'll email a PDF for the labels as well as instructions on how to use them and links for the boxes and ribbons shown in the pictures.

Put chocolate chips, chocolate wafer cookies and candy canes on your shopping list then whip up a batch or two of this DELICIOUS Peppermint Bark Brittle. You'll be all set for holiday gifting and all of the friends, neighbors, hairdressers, teachers, etc. on your list will be thrilled!

Cafe Tips for making this Peppermint Bark Brittle

• Although there's no baking in this recipe, I like to preheat the oven to 250˚F to keep my foil-lined sheet pan nice and warm while I'm preparing the brittle. The warm pan makes it easy to spread the melted chocolate evenly over the pan.
• This recipe calls for chocolate wafers. What are chocolate wafers? They're thin chocolate cookies that are often used for baking. At my local grocery they're not stocked in the cookie aisle but rather on the shelves with pre-made graham cracker and Oreo crusts. There are several brands of chocolate wafers available, the most popular here in the U.S. being Nabisco's Famous Chocolate Wafers and Dewey's Chocolate Wafers. You may find other brands of chocolate wafer cookies but if all else fails, just purchase chocolate sandwich cookies (such as Oreos) and scrape off the white filling.
• Don't crush the cookies too fine. You want some texture for a nice crunch.
• This Peppermint Bark Brittle also calls for crushed candy canes. Candy canes are generally wrapped tight in a clear covering to keep them fresh. What's the best way to remove the wrapper? Just cut a small slit on the bottom end of the wrapper. You can then easily pull up and remove the wrapper.
• Look for candy canes with a bright red color for a pretty presentation. I like Brach's candy canes.
• To crush candy canes, I put them in a gallon-size zippered bag and use the bottom of a soup spoon to smash them. This is optional, but I like to put the crushed candy cane in a small sieve with a bowl underneath to separate the finer crushed bits from the bigger pieces. I reserve some of the larger, pretty pieces for the top of the brittle.
• If you don't have a microwave to melt the chocolate, this can also be done on the stovetop with a double boiler setup. Just place a heat-proof bowl over a pan of simmering water.
• This Peppermint Bark Brittle keeps well at room temperature for 5-7 days but can also be refrigerated or frozen for longer storage.

Thought for the day:

What we're listening to for inspiration:

Crown Him

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5 from 3 votes

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Peppermint Bark Brittle

A cross between a classic peppermint bark and a crisp, crunch brittle, this fabulous Peppermint Bark Brittle is addictingly delicious and perfect for gifting!

Author: Chris Scheuer

Course: Candy, Sweet Treat

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Peppermint Bark, Peppermint Bark Brittle

Prep Time: 30 mins

Total Time: 30 mins

Servings: 24 3-inch pieces

Calories: 131 kcal

Ingredients

• 8 ounces good-quality semisweet chocolate chips
• 8 ounces good quality milk chocolate chips
• 5-6 ounces individually wrapped candy canes (You want 1 cup of crushed candy cane bits)
• 3½ ounces chocolate wafer cookies such as Nabisco Famous Chocolate Wafers, (You want 1 cup of lightly crushed crumbs.)
• 2 ounces good-quality white chocolate from a bar, chips, melting wafers or bark

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

For the prep:

1. Preheat the oven to 250˚F. Line a half sheet pan with foil and place it in the oven while preparing the rest of the recipe.

For the brittle:

1. Unwrap the candy canes and place them in a gallon-size zip lock bag. Whack them with the back of a table or soup spoon until they’re all in small bits. Don’t crush too fine, you want a bit of texture.

2. Optional - place the crushed candy canes in a sieve (not a fine mesh strainer) set over a bowl. Shake the sieve a little to separate the larger pieces from the finely crushed candy cane. Reserve ¼ cup of the larger pieces for the top of the brittle. Set aside

3. Place the chocolate wafer cookies in a gallon size zip-lock bag (you can use the same bag) and crush them by whacking with the back of a table or soup spoon. Again, don’t crush too fine. Leave a bit of texture. Set aside.

4. Place semisweet and milk chocolate chips in a medium-size, microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on high power for one minute. Stir to redistribute the microwave again for 30 seconds and stir. Repeat one or two more times until the chips look shiny then remove them from the microwave and stir until smooth and the chips are completely melted. Add the cookie crumbs and ¾ cup of the crushed candy canes to the bowl with the melted chocolate. Stir well to combine.

5. Remove the prepared sheet pan from the oven. Spray lightly with non-stick cooking spray. Pour the melted chocolate mixture onto the sheet pan and spread to an even layer to the edges of the pan with an offset knife.

6. Place the white chocolate wafers, bark or melting chips in a small microwave-safe bowl or cup. Microwave on 50% power for 30 seconds. Remove and stir to redistribute. Return to the microwave and heat again for 15-second intervals stirring well in between each microwave stint until the chips look shiny. Then stir until melted and smooth.

7. Drizzle the melted white chocolate over the chocolate mixture on the sheet pan then sprinkle with the reserved crushed candy cane. Chill in the refrigerator until set, about 45-60 minutes. completely before breaking into pieces. Store in an airtight container.

Recipe Notes

See Café Tips above in the post for more detailed instructions and tips to ensure success.

To prepare chocolate on the stovetop, place it in a medium metal bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water and stir frequently until melted.

Calories 131kcal

Fat 6g

Saturated fat 4g

Trans fat 1g

Polyunsaturated fat 1g

Monounsaturated fat 2g

Cholesterol 2mg

Sodium 33mg

Potassium 69mg

Carbohydrates 18g

Fiber 1g

Sugar 13g

Protein 1g

Vitamin A 6%

Vitamin C 1%

Calcium 12%

Iron 1%