Yesterday, I posed the question of what I should do with the rest of the peppermint bark, and Jean responded with this terrific Peppermint Bark Chocolate Cookies recipe from Simply Recipes. I had to try it right away!

After checking the pantry for all the necessary ingredients, I took the peppermint bark…

…and smashed it to smithereens with a mallet!

From garage to kitchen in just 30 seconds, the mallet is useful all over the house! I covered it with saran wrap and put the peppermint bark into a Ziploc bag to ensure that the peppermint pieces wouldn’t go flying. That was most of the work since my Kitchenaid did the rest, and it was the fun part!

The dough smelled [and tasted] incredible! I shaped it into little balls and placed them on a covered baking sheet.

10-12 minutes in the oven at 350 degrees, and voila!

So good! At least Ryan and I think so. He also brought in a few to work today, so I’m waiting to hear the verdict.

For the last batch, I combined several balls in one to make giant peppermint bark chocolate cookies. If it wasn’t so late in the evening, those would have been perfect paired with a giant scoop of ice cream, but alas! We avoided the late night sugar high.

I am definitely keeping this Peppermint Bark Chocolate Cookies recipe handy. With a cup of peppermint bark in each batch of approximately three dozen, I’ll be finished with that 2-lb. Costco box in no time!