on the 1st day of g-free christmas ...

hi lovelies! yesterday i mentioned that wade and i went to our first class (besides yoga) @ our gym. we attend a rock climbing gym where the average attendee has to be a 25 year old dude (aka - not me!). the classes are super intimidating. after 2 weeks in hawaii w/ my sister who woke herself and her 2 little guys up @ 6.00am 2 days a week to attend a boot camp, we decided it was time. this particular class was a 15 station circuit complete w/ lunges, stair running, kettle bell swinging ... and SORE MUSCLES! (muscles that i didn't even know existed hurt, in fact!).


and the point ... it's christmas season, y'all. and that means there's an excuse to eat around every corner. best of all - christmas cookies! can i get a "woot woot"? this thanksgiving was my first g-free thanksgiving and i had to go w/o my ultimate favorite thanksgiving dish - old-fashioned egg noodles (purchased in IL over the summer, stored in nashville, and carried on the plane to hawaii)! sad day. w/ invites left + right to cookie swaps and christmas parties ... i'm determined to not go w/o @ christmas bc of a silly allergy. presenting ...

today we'll start off easy-peasy w/ dark chocolate peppermint bark:



ingredients:
1 12oz bag of dark chocolate chips
1 12oz bag of white chocolate chips
8 peppermint candy canes



triple check to make sure that your chocolate chips are g-free. though you might not see any wheat products on the label, gluten is often hidden in "natural or artificial flavors". i used kroger's private selection brand - verified as gfree here. here is a list of verified gluten-free chips from nestle: milk chocolate chips, semi sweet morsels, chocolate chunks, semi sweet mini morsels, milk chocolate morsels, premier white morsels, peanut butter & milk morsels, milk chocolate & peanut butter swirled morsels and semi sweet & premier white swirled morsels. and a list from hersheys: butterscotch chips, special dark chips, cinnamon chips, semi sweet chips and milk chocolate chips. for a gluten-free, dairy-free, peanut-free, tree-nut free, soy free, egg free and casein free option, check out enjoy life.

1 // prepare a cookie sheet w/ a piece of aluminum foil. 

2 // unwrap the candy canes. place them in your food processor and chop until crushed into small pieces.

3 // place the dark chocolate chips in a pot and melt over medium heat while stirring. be careful not to let the chocolate burn. pour the melted chocolate onto the prepared cookie sheet. using your spatula spread it to an even thickness (about an 1/8"). place the cookie sheet in the fridge to firm.

4 // place the white chocolate chips in a pot and melt over medium heat while stirring. again be careful not to let the chocolate burn. stir in about half of the crushed candy canes. remove the cookie sheet from the refrigerator, and pour the melted chocolate/peppermint mixture over the dark chocolate. spread it to an even thickness over the dark chocolate layer quickly so that the dark chocolate doesn't melt.

5 // while the white chocolate is still wet, sprinkle the remaining peppermint pieces over the white chocolate/peppermint layer. press down w/ your spatula to secure the pieces. then return to the refrigerator until firm (about 30 minutes).

6 // once the bark has cooled, the final step is to break into pieces. make sure to peel away the aluminum foil as you go ... enjoy!