For Christmas gifts this year I spent an incredible amount of time in the kitchen pretending to be someone who knows how to cook. I cooked up several batches of Peppermint Bark to give away in decorative gift bags. I made up the old-fashioned candy using several variations to the recipe. For one batch I used milk chocolate and white chocolate in layers. In other batches I used only white chocolate and only milk chocolate.

Here is a detailed view of the first batch:


The Peppermint Bark was given in cute gift bags I found at Michaels:


If anyone is looking to follow this recipe or melt chocolate, my advice is to skip the double-boiler method. Cheat and use the microwave. Life will be so much easier for you. Also, I used crushed up peppermint candy instead of candy canes.

I also made homemade marshmallows after being inspired by this post. My marshmallows weren’t very glamorous and so I didn’t take photos of the finished product. But I do love the results of The Small Object's marshmallows. They are an excellent example of how homemade cooking can go right. The recipe for Homemade Marshmallows is here.

As for me, I’m not sure if I’m cut out for making gifts (at least, not the cooking method). It seems to add more stress to the gift-giving process. My Mom tells me she has been limiting herself to eating three pieces of Peppermint Bark a day. Who knows if this is entirely true or if she’s just concerned about my feelings, but I’m flattered, nonetheless.