If you still need to find some last minute gifts, or even make extra desserts for your holiday spread,  make these super easy peppermint bark. It really doesn’t take a lot of time, but it adds such a nice special homemade touch – and looks really festive with its bright white color and sparkles of red candy canes bits! I made this last week during the week  to share with my co-workers (before we lost power! Duh, don’t we love snow storm out here!), since I wanted something homemade but still special. They are really great with a steaming cup of coffee, tea, or hot chocolate after dinner.  You can skip the peppermint extract if you want to – but I think the peppermint compliments the really sweet white chocolate.

Ingredients
3 pounds good-quality white chocolate, chopped
Crushed candy canes, to yield 3 cup
3 tsp peppermint extract

Directions
Place candy canes in a plastic bag and hammer into 1/4-inch chunks or smaller.

Chop the chocolate into approximately 1-inch chunks. Melt the chocolate in a double boiler.

Combine candy cane chunks with chocolate. Stir in peppermint extract. at this point if desired.)

Pour mixture onto a cookie sheet layered with parchment or waxed paper and place in the refrigerator for 45 minutes or until firm.

Remove from cookie sheet and break into pieces (like peanut brittle.)

Yield: 3 lbs candy

Adapted from Paula Deen via Food Network