First of all, Merry Christmas!! If ever you need a last-minute Christmassy treat, maybe something to put out for Santa, keep this five-ingredient no bake Easy Peppermint Oreo Bark in mind. It’s fast, it’s fabulous and great not just for Santa, but for gifting, too. If it’s too late for this year, pin this for next. It’s too good to miss out on.
Easy Peppermint Oreo Bark
I won’t get to spend Christmas this year in Atlanta with my grandbabies; there’s a new “little” on the way (I’m so thrilled) and a wedding (congrats to my nephew, Dan & his lovely bride to be, Ali) in the summer, so that’s exciting and those (hopefully) will be future trips. I couldn’t help but think how much my grands would love helping with the making (and eating) of these treats. though.
About Easy Peppermint Oreo Bark:
I think it was my sister-in-law who first introduced me to the white peppermint bark with the chocolate layer on the bottom? You probably know what I’m talking about. I think you can buy it just about everywhere these days. I always thought I might do a homemade version but when I saw something like this Oreo bark at the store the other day (and yikes, did it cost a lot!) I thought how easy this more rustic treat with all the same flavor of dark chocolate and peppermint would be to make.
I think I like it a little better than the all chocolate version; the Oreos kind of break up all the richness and add such a nice crunch and texture. And when I’m baking for the holidays I sometimes have off amounts of Oreos laying around because I pretty much am always making some kind of Oreo crust for something. If you have kids, you might always have Oreos!
It seemed a good idea to put those errant Oreos somewhere besides….um…..my mouth! Although some of those will make it there eventually, just in this bark instead of straight up! And I can always scare up a candy cane or two. But can I talk about the chocolate at my house! Good thing it’s always on sale around the holidays, and I stock up, but this recipe will put all hose partial bags of this and that to good use.
Easy Peppermint Oreo Bark Doterra Essential Oil Peppermint
Oils & Soul & Dotera Essential Oils:
This post is kind of special because I want to give a shout out to my friend, Kendra, who sent me up a lovely assortment of high-quality Essential Oils to try out and play with. She helped me get my Dad set up for a surgery this summer in Sioux Falls (and thanks, Kendra for looking after him and me; I was a nervous wreck about it) and we hit it off immediately.
Essential Oils have so many uses and I’ve been experimenting with them in some of my cooking and loving them. (I do need to try the chamomile before bed, though & I’m super psyched about the turmeric but that’s another post.) In this recipe, I’ve used the peppermint to boost the flavor in the bark. It’s heavenly. I’ve also used the lemon in my Blueberry Buckle. Now you can use extract, but I’ve been rethinking that strategy since I received the gift pack; oils carry so many flavor compounds and just a few drops are transformative in a recipe.
But long story short, I hope you’ll check out Kendra’s facebook site Oils & Soul (you should see all the ways she uses these natural oils for her darling family) and maybe throw some business her way if you’re as impressed as I am; I wish I would have posted this long before Christmas because these would have made such great gifts, but maybe you’d like to pick up a few of these starter kits for friends or family you’re getting together with after Christmas (coz who has time for all the socializing before!) or maybe for all those people you think you should pick up something for but you’re not sure what. Or maybe or for yourself.
Making Easy Peppermint Oreo Bark:
So back to the bark. Easy Oreo Peppermint Bark couldn’t be easier (or more versatile). You melt chocolate (I use chocolate chips) in a double boiler or the microwave, add separated and chopped up Oreos, top with crushed up candy canes and squiggle a little white chocolate over the top.
You can use just about any kind of chocolate or a mix of chocolates for the chocolate portion but I’d stay away from all milk chocolate. A little is ok mixed with the other chocolates but it’s too melty on its own in the finished bark. I used a bit of this and that leftover from my holiday baking. And you can pretty much use any kind of Oreos.
My gosh, there are so many, now! I stood in front of the display for about 10 minutes, just looking for plain ones. Peppermint would be good, too. Chop them, and crush the candy canes first, and line your sheet tray with parchment ahead so when your chocolate is ready you can move quickly.
As I mentioned above, you can use peppermint extract in your chocolate (I used the Essential Oil) and you’ll want to stir that into the chocolate with the Oreos. The white chocolate needs a bit of extra care or it can harden and seize while it melts. Add a half teaspoon of shortening (not butter; shortening has a higher fat content and butter might make the white chocolate seize) which will help keep it solid on top of the bark or a little oil if that’s what you have on hand.
You can double or triple this recipe, use less Oreos if you want (don’t use more, it won’t spread), spread it thick or thin. It’s all good and it’s so easy, peasy. When it’s finished, toss in the fridge and it will be hard enough to break up into pieces in about an hour.
Shortcut this Recipe:
Who knew you can buy crushed candy canes! If you’re using them a lot for Christmas treats, it might make sense to look into it. Opening and crushing a couple is no big deal, but doing a lot could be a significant pain.
Easy Peppermint Oreo Bark
Easy Peppermint Oreo Bark
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 15 minutes + 1 hour chill
- Category: Desserts
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 2 candy canes
- 10 Oreo cookies
- 1 package semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips or a mixture
- 10 to 12 drops Dotera Essential oil or 1/8 teaspoon peppermint extract
- 1/3 cup white baking chips
- 1 teaspoon shortening; sub 1/2 teaspoon oil
Instructions
Line a 15x10x1″ baking pan with parchment.
Place candy canes in a Ziploc bag and crush; a meat mallet works well. Aim for tiny pieces and as little “dust” as possible. Set aside. Separate Oreo cookies and chop into small pieces, nothing over about 1/2″.
Either in the microwave or in the top of a double boiler or a metal bowl over hot water, melt dark chocolate:
- In the microwave, heat for one minute, stir, then heat in 30-second increments, stirring after each.
- In the double boiler, make sure the bottom of the bowl isn’t touching the water. Stir now and then.
For both methods, to keep the chocolate shiny, melt only until most of the chocolate is melted, remove from the microwave or remove the bowl from the double boiler and stir until it is all melted, smooth and shiny.
Stir in the oil or extract and cookies into the chocolate. Immediately spread on the parchment-lined sheet tray. Sprinkle with crushed candy canes. Melt the white chocolate and shortening in the microwave in the same manner as the chocolate chips. Place in a Ziploc, trim off the corner. Squeeze randomly all over the bark. Refrigerate until set, about 1 hour then break into pieces.
Note: If the bark hardens too quickly, you may have trouble getting candy canes to stick; If that happens, pop the sheet pan with the chocolate oreo mixture into a warm oven for a minute before chocolate before adding toppings.
Keywords: Candy, Candy Canes, Chocolate, Chocolate Chips, Desserts, Oreos
==================
I’ll be sharing my Easy Peppermint Oreo Bark at Fiesta Friday #307, co-hosted this week by Jhuls @ The Not So Creative Cook.
Doterra Introductory Pack
22 thoughts on “Easy Peppermint Oreo Bark”