Easy Peppermint Bark Fudge

Christmas season at Rivera's, year four. The traditions are carved in stone now: the staff ornament tree (twenty ornaments this year — one for each current and former staff member), the luminarias, the garland of dried chiles, the prime rib special. Sixteen catering events — the most ambitious December in Rivera's history. The catering arm is a machine now, run by Jake and Carmen with the efficiency of a team that has been feeding corporate Phoenix for four years.

I hung Roberto's Christmas lights at the Maryvale house. Thirty-eight years of lights. I hung them alone — Elena directed from the doorway this year, relaying Roberto's instructions from the recliner. "The blue strand on the lemon tree. The multicolored on the eaves. The star on the peak." The instructions are the same every year. The instructions will be the same next year and the year after and the year after that, because Christmas lights at the Maryvale house are a tradition that will outlast the man who started them. I climbed the ladder. I hung the strands. The house glowed. I stood in the yard and looked at the lights and I thought about the first year Roberto hung them — 1989, Marcus was four, the lights were a wonder. Thirty-eight years later, the lights are still a wonder. The wonder does not fade. The man fades. The lights do not.

Diego won the statewide youth writing contest. "The Fire That Went Everywhere" — his expanded, revised, eight-page story about a fire that starts in a backyard grill and spreads to a building and then to every building in a city — won first place in the grades 4-6 category. The award ceremony is in January. Diego does not know that I have already cried about this. Diego does not know that I read the winning story on my phone in the Rivera's parking lot at 11 PM and that I sat in the Silverado for twenty minutes and cried because the boy wrote the story of our family and the story won and the story is about fire and the fire is Roberto and Roberto is the fire and the boy sees it all.

I called Roberto to tell him about Diego's award. I said, "Dad, Diego won the state writing contest. The story about the fire." Roberto was quiet. Then he said, "Which story?" I said, "The Fire That Went Everywhere." He said, "That is the story about me." I said, "That is the story about us." He was quiet again. Then he said, "Tell the boy: the fire is proud of him." The fire is proud. Not Roberto is proud — the fire is proud. The man has merged with the fire so completely that he speaks as the fire, for the fire, through the fire. The fire is proud of the boy who wrote its story. The fire is proud.

Between the sixteenth catering event, the ornament tree, and sitting in the Silverado crying over a story written by a ten-year-old about a fire that is also my father, I did not have a December evening left to spend on a complicated dessert — and honestly, I didn’t want one. What I wanted was something that smelled like Christmas and came together fast and could be set out on the counter at the Maryvale house while the lights were still glowing in the yard. This peppermint bark fudge has been the answer to that for three Decembers running: two layers, a bag of crushed candy canes, and about twenty minutes of actual work. The fire is proud. The fudge gets made.

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 5 min | Total Time: 2 hr 20 min (includes chilling) | Servings: 24 pieces

Ingredients

3 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk, divided
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups white chocolate chips
1 teaspoon peppermint extract
3/4 cup crushed candy canes (about 8 standard canes), divided
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
Nonstick cooking spray

Instructions

Prepare the pan. Line a 9x13-inch baking dish with parchment paper, leaving overhang on the long sides. Lightly mist with nonstick spray and set aside.
Make the chocolate layer. Combine semi-sweet chocolate chips and 3/4 cup of the sweetened condensed milk in a medium saucepan over low heat. Stir constantly until fully melted and smooth, about 3—4 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla extract and sea salt.
Spread the first layer. Pour the chocolate mixture into the prepared pan and spread into an even layer with a spatula. Scatter 1/4 cup of the crushed candy canes evenly over the top. Refrigerate for 20 minutes until just firm.
Make the peppermint layer. Combine white chocolate chips and the remaining sweetened condensed milk in a clean saucepan over low heat. Stir constantly until melted and smooth, about 3—4 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in peppermint extract. Let cool for 3 minutes so it doesn’t melt the chocolate layer beneath.
Top and finish. Pour the white chocolate mixture gently over the chilled chocolate layer and spread carefully to the edges. Immediately scatter the remaining 1/2 cup crushed candy canes over the top and press lightly so they adhere.
Chill until set. Refrigerate uncovered for at least 2 hours, or until completely firm. Use the parchment overhang to lift the slab onto a cutting board. Cut into 24 pieces with a sharp knife, wiping the blade clean between cuts for neat edges.
Store. Layer pieces between sheets of parchment in an airtight container. Keeps in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks, or at cool room temperature for up to 5 days.

Nutrition (per serving)

Easy Peppermint Bark Fudge — The Sweetness We Carry Through December