Easy chocolate bark swirled with mint flavored white chocolate.
Chocolate bark is one of my favorite candies to make. It’s made quickly, requires few ingredients, and is economical. One batch of bark can fill several bags or boxes if you’re gifting it. Not only this, bark is gorgeous. Especially if you layer it, swirl it, or top it. Let’s also not forget how delicious bark is. It’s chocolate! And what better to pair with chocolate than mint? Mint is chocolateโs second soulmate after all (after peanut butter!). Have you tried the pair before in my Andes mint chocolate cookies or Andes mint fudge?
The bottom layer is semi-sweet chocolate. For the best tasting bark, use quality chocolate. With so little ingredients, it’s important to use pure chocolate. I typically use Ghirardelli. You can buy their baking bars in the baking aisle near the chocolate chips. Because of their stabilizers, chocolate chips do not melt properly. Great for chocolate chip cookies, but not ideal for when we need smooth, melted chocolate like in this recipe.
When it comes to making bark, always reach for the good chocolate.
Swirled on top is a mint layer. The mint layer is made from 7 ounces of pure white chocolate and 1 ounce of green candy melts. The combination of the two produce a lovely mint green color. As an alternative, you can use 8 ounces of white chocolate with a drop of food coloring. For flavor, add peppermint extract. This is an alcohol-based extract, so a touch of oil will help prevent the chocolate from seizing. The oil is especially important if you skip the candy melts and only use pure white chocolate with the food coloring.
Swirling is easy. Drizzle the mint layer on top and drag a toothpick or knife through it all. I feel like kids would love doing this part!
It tastes like a giant Andes mint. Which, by the way, happen to be the star in my favorite Andes mint chocolate cookies.
If you’re feeling wild, add another layer of pizazz!
If you’re gifting this mint chocolate bark for the holidays, pick up a cute holiday treat tin or Christmas cookie box. Line it with parchment paper, then layer this bark inside. Sweetest homemade holiday gift! You can do this with my peppermint bark or Reese’s peanut butter white chocolate bark, too.
More Easy Candy Recipes
- Peanut Butter Balls
- Peppermint Crunch Puppy Chow
- Chocolate Truffles
- Saltine Toffee
- Homemade Soft Caramels
Mint Chocolate Swirl Bark
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes
- Yield: 1 pound
- Category: Candy
- Method: No Bake
- Cuisine: American
Description
Easy chocolate bark swirled with mint flavored white chocolate.
Ingredients
- 7 ounces (199g) white chocolate, coarsely chopped
- 1 ounce (1/4 cup) green candy melts*
- 1/4 teaspoon canola or vegetable oil
- 1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract*
- 8 ounces (226g) semi-sweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
- optional: 1/3 cup chopped Andes mints
Instructions
- Line aย large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.ย Set aside.
- Melt the white chocolate and green candy melts together. Use a double boiler or microwave. If using microwave, stir the chocolate every 20 seconds to help avoid seizing. Once melted and smooth, stir in oil and peppermint extract. Set aside.
- Melt the semi-sweet chocolateย in the same manner you melted the chocolate in step 2. Pour onto prepared baking sheet and spread out into a large rectangle. Drizzle the white chocolateย mixture on top in lines. See photo above for a visual. Use a toothpick or knife to swirl the layers together. Sprinkle the topย of the bark with Andes mints, if using.
- Allow the chocolate to set at room temperature in a cool, dry environment. My swirled barks usually take around 45 minutes. If needed, you can stick it in the refrigerator to help speed things up. Once hardened, break into pieces as large or as small as you want.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: Store bark in an airtight container at room temperature in a cool, dry place or in theย refrigerator for up to 3 weeks. For longer storage, freeze for up to 2 months and thaw overnight in the refrigerator.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Baking Sheet | Silicone Baking Mat or Parchment Paper | Double Boiler or Glass Mixing Bowl
- Chocolate: Do not use chocolate chips or morsels. Pure chocolate is best for easy melting and best taste.
- Candy Melts: Instead of green candy melts, use 8 ounces of white chocolate and 1 drop of green food coloring. Or leave the mint swirl white.
- Peppermint Extract: Avoid using mint extract; I find it more resembles the taste of spearmint toothpaste than anything else. Peppermint extract has that wonderful cool mint flavor which pairs wonderfully with chocolate.
Reader Comments and Reviews
When Iโve made this in the past, occasionally the semi sweet chocolate parts turn โashyโ looking. Do you know what Iโm doing wrong or what causes this ?
Hi Jan! Sounds like chocolate bloom – this article describes that phenomenon well: https://www.bonappetit.com/story/what-is-chocolate-bloom
So easy and delicious. Also really pretty. Used white chocolate and dark chocolate. Tastes great!!
Hi. Can I use the mint chocolate chips instead of the green candy melts? If so, I guess I would omit the oil and extract then?
Hi Heather, you can give it a try, but we often find that chocolate chips (and variations like mint chips) don’t melt properly because of the stabilizers they contain. If you do decide to give it a try, you can omit the oil and extract.
Using mint chocolate chips worked fine for me. I had two kinds and they melted fine.
I did have trouble getting the swirly effect here though. I guess it wasn’t runny enough, or maybe I just had too much light green . My second attempt worked better.
I want to make Mint Chocolate Swirl Bark, but I can’t find the green candy melts. I checked my Wegman’s, and they don’t have it. Then I went to Michael’s Crafts. They didn’t have it either. Where can I find green candy melts?
Hi Wendy, See recipe notes. Instead of green candy melts, use 8 ounces of white chocolate and 1 drop of green food coloring.
What type of white chocolate did you use? Can you use Bakers white chocolate?
That’s what I use, yes.
Thanks for this great recipe, but how the heck do you get the finished product cut into even squares, as in the picture ? Also, if storing in the refrigerator, how to you prevent condensation in the container ? I am in a humid, very warm climate.
Hi Dee! I peel the bark off the silicone baking mat and place it on the cutting board. Then it’s easy to cut into squares using a sharp knife.
I had a problem with the mint chocolate swirl bark recipe. I followed it to the letter but when I added the oil and peppermint extract it made the green/white wafer mixture get lumpy and thick and it wouldn’t become smooth again.
I had the same problem Nicole. The second the oil and extract hit the chocolate it stiffened up and was not spreadable. I used white chocolate baking squares but not Bakers so I am wondering if that was the problem?
I found that if I let the white chocolate sit a little bit and then stirred it again, it started to loosen up. In the end it was perfectly spreadable!
My mom and I have been making bark for Christmas for YEARS and always use chocolate chips. To say that they don’t work for bark is completely untrue! I look forward to making this for my dad this Christmas as he loves mint and chocolate. Was super disappointed that the recipe wasn’t actually made with mint though and just melts, which are white chocolate which is NOT chocolate.ย
I wondered about using the Crรจme De Menthe oil instead of Peppermint since Andes mint are that flavor, have you tried it and what is the difference?
I made it today. I really liked it. I think you were smart to use the good chocolate instead of regular chocolate chips. It tastes better. I really like this recipe and i would love to do it again. So simple! Thanks for the recipe โบ
I made this twice and both times it would not set up. Would set up in the fridge, but when I took it out of the fridge, it got soft again
Sally, could I use peppermint essential oil instead of the extract?
Yep! If you use oil you wonโt need to add the extra canola/vegetable oil.
For this recipe, you don’t need to temper the chocolate and it will stay firm at room temperature? Could I use this method for other candies?
It depends on the candy recipe but unless it’s incredibly humid and/or 90F+ temperatures, the chocolate won’t really melt.
I want to do a red instead of green. Can I do 6oz of white and 2oz of red candy melts? For a more red than pink effect? Or is the 7oz of white chocolate a must?
6 oz of white + 2 oz of red candy melts works! That’s perfect.
The chocolate mint sounds great, When flavoring the white chocolate, should I use the flavored oils like LorAnn Oils? I might even try a chocolate-cherry and a chocolate-raspberry too!
You can use pure extracts or oils, yes. If you use oils you won’t need to add the extra canola/vegetable oil. I love LorAnn Oils!
Sally, how long should this take to set up? I made it almost an hour ago and it’s still nowhere near being hard.
You can stick it in the refrigerator to help speed it up. In a cool, dry environment my swirled barks take around 45 minutes.
Would you please share who’s white chocolate you prefer? Love your blog-I read it everyday!
For bark and other candy making, I love Ghirardelli and Baker’s.
Could you use crรจme de menthe instead? My 5 year old loves all things mint. He had a mint cake for his birthday last year and we made grasshopper pie just for him for Thanksgiving. Going to have to try this!
Absolutely.