Wake UP’s Clean Peppermint Bark Recipe

Peppermint desserts are a go-to favorite during the holidays. One of the simplest recipes to satisfy that peppermint craving is peppermint bark. Mix some semi sweet chocolate, white chocolate, peppermint, and crunchy candy cane pieces, and you’ve got yourself a delicious treat! Where could it go wrong?

Wake Up and Read the Labels doesn’t want to be the bearer of bad news, but you may want to think twice before making your peppermint bark with the usual chocolate and candy cane pieces. Don’t worry, as always, there’s a way to make it work. Let’s dive in.

What’s Usually In Peppermint Bark?

Peppermint bark may only call for a few ingredients, but when you break down what’s in the chocolates and candy canes, you may think twice about choosing your typical items from the grocery store. Wake Up and Read the Labels is here to explain why this is important.

Maybe you’re buying something similar to Nestle’s Semi Sweet Chocolate Morsels for your chocolate later. Before just throwing the bag into your shopping cart, read the ingredients. “SUGAR, CHOCOLATE, COCOA BUTTER, MILKFAT, SOY LECITHIN, NATURAL FLAVORS.”

Moving your eyes to another shelf with the white chocolate, you pick up Nestle’s Premier White Morsels. They’re premier, so that sounds good, right? Let’s read the ingredients. “SUGAR, FRACTIONATED PALM KERNEL OIL, MILK, NONFAT MILK, HYDROGENATED PALM OIL, SOY LECITHIN, NATURAL FLAVOR.”

We’re not off to a great start, but let’s see what’s in the typical Brach’s peppermint candy canes. “CORN SYRUP, SUGAR, PEPPERMINT OIL, RED 40, RED 40 LAKE.”

Goodness, there are some alarming ingredients that need to be broken down. We won’t cover every single ingredient below, but let the record show that the only Wake Up and Read the Labels approved ingredient out of these three products is peppermint oil. Yikes!

Soy Lecithin

Soy Lecithin is a food additive that’s often used as an emulsifier. It comes from soy, which is often genetically modified and should be avoided. It’s just a food additive, so it’s not offering any type of nutrition. Just say no.

Natural Flavors

Natural Flavors may seem harmless, but flavor manufacturers can get away with calling added preservatives, synthetic solvents, and other additives that are not actually natural. There’s just not much natural about them!

Corn Syrup

Corn Syrup is an unnecessary added sweetener that’s derived from corn. Corn that’s not organic is genetically modified and can lead to many health risks. 

Hydrogenated Palm Oil

Hydrogenated oil is a major source of trans fat, which is the worst kind of fat that you can consume. Trans fats increase your bad LDL cholesterol levels and are said to reduce your good HDL cholesterol levels. If you see this ingredient listed on a product, immediately put it back! It’s not worth risking your health.

Food Dyes

There are so many health related issues to food dyes like hyperactivity, depression, asthma, tumor growth, and more. We wrote an article on the risks of food dyes recently, and it’s one you should read. Food dyes and artificial colorings are added often, and they’re unnecessary ingredients that just do way more harm than good. 

What The Wrong Peppermint Bark Could Do To Your Body

So many health risks involved with these ingredients, and this is just one tiny portion of what you may eat per day! 

These ingredients are found in so many products. When you’re constantly feeding yourself foods with artificial ingredients, your body starts to feel the effects. 

Chronic inflammation, heart disease, obesity… These are common health problems that are very related to the food we eat. 

Have no fear. Wake Up and Read the Labels has sourced all the clean products that are made with REAL ingredients.

Peppermint Bark Made with Real Ingredients

We love finding recipes that we can make clean and Wake Up and Read the Labels approved. The best part? We know they’ll taste great and we won’t miss out on the fake stuff. Real food just tastes better. Here’s a clean recipe for Peppermint Bark.

Ingredients

12 oz Evolved Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips

16 oz Evolved White Chocolate Bar, chopped

1 tsp peppermint extract

1/3 c Yum Earth candy canes, chopped

Directions

• Prepare a 9x13 baking sheet with parchment paper.
  
  
• In a small saucepan, heat the chocolate chips over low to medium heat or until melted. Stir often to keep from burning or sticking to the pan. Remove from heat and pour onto your baking sheet. Smooth the chocolate into an even layer with a spatula.
  
  
• Chill in the refrigerator for 15 minutes.
  
  
• In a new or cleaned saucepan, heat the chopped white chocolate over low to medium heat and melt, while stirring throughout. Add in peppermint extract and mix well.
  
  
• Once the white chocolate has melted, remove the baking sheet from the refrigerator.
  
  
• Pour the white chocolate over the chocolate on your baking sheet allowing it to set together.
  
  
• Sprinkle chopped candy canes on top of the bark and place back in the refrigerator for 20 minutes.
  
  
• Remove from the fridge, slice, and serve! 

Prepare for these to be gone in no time. In fact, you may just want to double up on ingredients and make two batches! 

Just because the food is clean and made with real ingredients, it doesn’t mean it won’t taste good. In fact, it’s the exact opposite. Real food tastes better! Give this recipe a try.