Peppermint Bark

I have some pretty generous and talented neighbors who like to bake treats for us around Christmastime, which is why every year I make my kids suffer through my endless baking for other people!  It kills them that we don't keep everything that is baked (even though Ava is the only one who can eat any of it!).

This year I'm baking a treat trio!  Rolo Pretzels, Snowball Cookies (more to come on this) and Peppermint Bark.  The Pioneer Woman promised that the Peppermint Bark recipe was easy and I'm happy to say that she was right.  This recipe only calls for 3 ingredients and the hardest part is waiting for 2 hours while it hardens in the fridge.

Ingredients:
3 cups Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
1 can (14 oz) Sweetened Condensed Milk
Crushed peppermint candies

Instructions:
1.  Line a square 8x8 pan with foil and smooth the surface.  Spray foil with nonstick spray.  I just threw out my 8x8 pan so I used some heavy duty foil to form a square-ish shape.

2.  Combine the chocolate chips and sweetened condensed milk in a double boiler over medium heat.  Heat until melted, about 5-7 minutes.  Don't leave it on the heat for too long or the chocolate will ruin.  I don't have a double boiler so I fit a ceramic mixing bowl over a pot filled with boiling water and inserted a baking thermometer between the bowl and the pot so that the steam could release.

3.  Remove from heat and stir until smooth, then immediately pour it into the foil-lined pan.

4.  Use a spatula to smooth the surface, then sprinkle on the crushed peppermint.

5.  Refrigerate for 2 hours, then cut into small squares.  I trimmed the edges before I cut into squares.