It’s early December, which means your holiday has already been in effect for the past two weeks.

With the holiday season in full force, being a college student, and most likely a broke one, you probably do not have the patience for fancy holiday recipes. So let’s bring third grade back, college-style.

Peppermint bark may arguably be the easiest treat of the season, so ditch the double boilers and the gourmet ingredients, and fool your friends and co-workers with a treat that’s sure to impress.

First, begin by crushing your candy canes into tiny pieces. The best way to do this is to place them in a plastic bag and use a hard object to crush the candy canes (I used a glass bowl).

After the candy canes are crushed, place them to the side.

Usually for this recipe a double boiler would be needed to melt the chocolate, but for convenience’ sake, we’ll be using the microwave.  Pour the white chocolate chips into a microwave-safe bowl.

Microwave the contents for 30 seconds and then take out and stir the chips. Continue this process in 15-second intervals (this varies depending on the power of your microwave) until the chocolate has a glue-like consistency.

Make sure you do not overheat the chocolate—this will turn your peppermint bark into peppermint mulch!

Now pour the chocolate onto a cookie sheet and spread it evenly with a spoon.

Before the chocolate gets a chance to set, sprinkle the candy cane pieces over it, then put it in the freezer for about an hour to freeze.

After the chocolate is frozen, take it out of the freezer and use a spatula to break it off of the cookie sheet. Don’t worry about breaking it unevenly, that’s the idea.

Put the dessert into goodie bags for friends or just eat it right off the sheet, it’s yours to enjoy!

Ingredients

1   22-ounce bag of white chocolate chips

5   standard size peppermint candy canes

Instructions

1. Crush candy canes, set aside.

2.  Heat chocolate chips in microwave in 15-second intervals, stirring between.

3. Spread melted chocolate on cookie sheet to a 1/4 inch thick.

4. Sprinkle crushed candy canes over chocolate.

5. Freeze cookie sheet for 1 hour.

6. Break bark off the cookie sheet with a spatula, and eat!

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