Work party

So even though I started Christmas shopping early this year, I couldn't seem to figure out what to get my co-workers. I went back and forth for a while, then eventually decided on the following: I'd get everyone a personalized mug, fill it with some peppermint bark, and bring some hot cocoa fixins. I brought a few different flavors of hot cocoa, candy canes, and gingerbread marshmallows. It went over really well - homemade peppermint bark is amazing, and it is so easy. This is the recipe I used, but here are my steps:

Melt dark chocolate in the microwave. Stir at 30 second intervals. I used a Pyrex casserole dish, since a sheet pan wouldn't fit in my fridge/freezer. I lined it with parchment and poured the chocolate. The good thing about this recipe is it doesn't have to look perfect, so while a sheet pan probably would have been easier and looked cleaner, the dish seemed to work fine too. Put in the fridge. Watch Hawaii Five-0 while you wait for it to firm up. Drool over this guy. Ok, back to that bark, don't get distracted. Crush candy canes. I put it in a ziploc bag and smashed them with a can, which was pretty fun. Take your dish out of the fridge (I'd say it takes about an hour to cool it in the fridge). Melt the white chocolate in the microwave, remember to stir often. Once melted, stir in crushed candy canes. Pour the mixture over the hardened dark chocolate and stick the dish back into the fridge. Now go watch Glee and the New Girl. The bark should be hard enough to break up by now. You can choose to share with friends and family, or keep a stash for yourself, up to you. It's so good, I may have to hide it from myself.