Holiday House Tour 2015

Well I can hardly believe that Christmas is less than three weeks away!  I've been so busy with work and kids that I haven't actually had a chance to photograph every room in the house yet! (Oops!) But since I don't see my schedule changing any time soon, I figured getting s few posted is better than not getting any!  So without further ado, here is my home for the holidays!

Thank you so much for stopping by my home today.  Check out last year's Holiday home tour here!

Peppermint Bark

With the holidays right around the corner, I thought I would post a few recipes that make great gifts for friends, neighbors, teachers... These bark recipes are simple, delicious, and really pretty too!

All three of my chocolate bark recipes start the same way.  You'll need two 12oz bags of chocolate chips for each one.

I made three different kinds, but there are so many toppings that would be delicious.

Ingredients for Peppermint White Chocolate Bark:

Two 12oz bags of white chocolate chips

6 candy canes with the wrappers removed

1 large sheet of parchment paper

Ingredients for Chocolate Peppermint Marshmallow Bark:

Two 12oz bags of semi-sweet chocolate chips (or whichever type of chocolate you prefer) 

6 candy canes with wrappers removed 

1 cup of small marshmallows

1 large sheet of parchment paper

Ingredients for Chocolate Turtle Bark:

Two 12oz bags of semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 cup of cashews

1 cup of small marshmallows

1/2 a bag of carmels removed from their wrappers

1/2 tsp of sea salt

1 large sheet of parchment paper

Directions:

Each of these bark recipes start out the same way.  Using a microwave safe bowl melt the chocolate chips in the microwave.  You'll want to check them every 15 seconds and stir them until they are completely melted.  Once melted pour the chocolate onto a large piece of parchment paper and spread evenly using an off set spatula.  Top the bark with the toppings for each one.  For the Turtle Bark follow the same directions for melting the carmel.  Top the bark with the melted carmel and sea salt.  You'll need to let the bark set up on the counter for a few hours, or if you want to put it in the fridge, place your parchment paper on top of a cookie sheet first, then make your bark and place in the fridge.  You can slice your bark with a knife if you want, but I like the rustic look of just breaking it into big chunks.