White and Dark Paleo Mint Chocolate Bark

This recipe was inspired by a recipe I saw for grasshopper bark on pinterest.  I immediately set to researching as many versions of dairy-free homemade white chocolate I could find.  The best Paleo white chocolate recipe to start with came from this recipe from the Paleo Parents (no weird sweeteners, no bizarre binders, just clean Paleo… er, well, Paleo with sugar).  I have modified the recipe slightly to use less sugar (with that powerful mint flavor, you don’t need as much sugar).  I also decided against the use of food coloring to make the white chocolate green, but you could definitely add that if you wanted to (in that case, I would use white sugar instead of evaporated cane juice so you get a brighter color).

I used unsweetened 100% dark chocolate for the base layer in this bark because I liked the contrast of the bitter dark chocolate and the sweet minty white chocolate.  You could substitute a bittersweet chocolate if you prefer.

I don’t know how many servings to call this.  Respectably, 4 or 5, but too easy for one person to gobble down before anyone even knows it’s been made (speaking from experience here…).

Ingredients (White Chocolate Layer):

• 3 oz cocoa butter (by weight)
• ¼ cup evaporated cane juice (for whiter chocolate use white sugar)
• 2 tsp arrowroot powder
• ½ tsp peppermint oil

1. Blend sugar in a food processor or blender until it forms a fine white powder (I used a Magic Bullet).  Mix sugar with arrowroot powder and set aside.
2. Melt cocoa butter in a medium bowl in the microwave or over low heat on stovetop.  This takes longer than you think, so keep setting the microwave for one more minute, stir and check, one more minute, etc.  I think it took about 4 minutes in total, but it would depend on how big your chunks of cocoa butter are.
3. Once the cocoa butter is melted, mix in sugar and arrowroot powder a little bit at a time whisking thoroughly to help the sugar dissolve.
4. Once the sugar and arrowroot powder is fully incorporated, add the peppermint oil.
5. Let the white chocolate cool until it is thicker, but still warm enough to be liquid (if it’s too runny, it won’t make a nice swirl patter when you pour it over the base layer).

Ingredients (Dark Chocolate Layer):

• 2 oz unsweetened dark chocolate
• ½ tsp vanilla

1. Prepare an 8”x8” glass dish or cake pan by lining with a sheet of wax paper (you could also try greasing with butter or palm shortening).  You could use a 9”x9” pan, but your bark will be a little thinner.  A great alternative would be a silicone cake pan because no liner would be necessary.
2. Melt chocolate in a small bowl in the microwave or over low heat on the stove top.  As soon as it’s melted, stir in vanilla (this just helps soften the chocolate slightly).
3. Pour into prepared dish or cake pan and spread out to evenly cover the dish.
4. Pour the cooled but still liquid minty white chocolate layer over top.
5. With a knife, trace swirly patterns through the melted chocolate until it looks pretty.
6. Refrigerate until set.  Remove from pan (the wax paper will make this job really easy) and break into pieces.  Enjoy!