"The 25 Posts of Christmas" Gift No. 19

   Yay for Christmas break! This morning I finally rose from bed at 10:00, 5 hours later than I normally sleep. Then I made eggs for breakfast, had some hot apple cider, watched my husband play video games, and finally decided to work on some more Christmas gifts.
   Peppermint Bark is a delicious holiday tradition. The only kind I've ever really had though is the over-priced peppermint bark that Williams Sonoma sells. Delicious, but $6 seems a bit a lot too expensive for a tin of chocolate and peppermint.
   Thanks to one of my favorite blogs, How Sweet It Is, my eyes have been opened to the idea of making my own bark, for less money and the freedom to experiment with all type of flavors and combinations. About a week ago I made Milky Way Bark. It was a big hit. Today I decided to try my hand at another flavor combination to give as a gift. It's darn good :o)

Peanut Butter Bark

You will need:

• 1 12oz bag chocolate chips
• 1 12oz bag white chocolate chips
• peanut butter
• vegetable oil
• peanuts

Step 1. Place the chocolate chips in a microwave safe container (yes, the whole bag), add some vegetable oil, and microwave until smooth.

Step 2. Pour the lovely melted chocolate on a wax covered cookie sheet, spread it out, and put it in the fridge. The freezer would probably be even better, ours is just too small and packed with stuff to welcome any bark in progress.

Step 3. Chop up about 1 1/2 cups of peanuts. I got my at Dollar General. 

Step 4. Pour the bag of white chocolate chips into a microwave safe bowl. If you're like me, you won't add the entire bag so that you can munch on a few while creating your bark. You're supposed to eat chocolate during the holidays right? No matter what time of day. To the white chocolate chips add a little vegetable oil and a big spoonful of peanut butter. I used extra crunchy. Microwave until smooth.

Step 5. Remove the tray of cooled and set chocolate from the fridge and pour the peanut butter, white chocolate mixture over it. Use a spatula to spread it to the edges. Before the white chocolate dries, sprinkle the chopped peanuts over the whole thing. Place the tray of goodness in the fridge.

Step 6. When the whole treat is cold, use your hands to break it into lovely, imperfect chunks. 

   The hint of peanut butter is divine (is the taste of peanut butter ever not divine?) and the bark looks so fancy. definitely hold your pinkie up while eating it. I plan on putting some pieces in cellophane bags and tying them with pretty Christmas ribbons.

   Now I'm off to the store to buy more chocolate to make more. I definitely keep y'all updated on my bark adventures :o)