![Students in the National Art Honor Society work on the Mount Hood mural on the window of SouthLake Church. The students brought a variety of paints and mixed their own custom colors. “Instead of brushstrokes, we’re doing more dabbing, because it gives [a] better impression of tree foliage, rather than looking like actual brush strokes, because if we’re painting trees, we need it to look like trees,” Crawford said.](https://wlhsnow.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/IMG_2397-1200x900.jpg)
![Main Street said farewell to summer on Aug. 30 through the second annual Chalk Walk Art Festival. Ruth Offer, Chalk Walk organizer, brought this tradition from Wyoming in an attempt to make use of the renovated sidewalks of Willamette Falls Dr. “[This is] a community event for the kids,” Offer said.](https://wlhsnow.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/image-12-1200x803.png)
Peppermint Bark, a sweet way to start off the holidays
With a whirlwind of holiday parties taking place before Christmas, there is always a need for something sweet, and this peppermint bark does the trick! It is super easy and quick to make.
To begin, gather your ingredients, semi sweet chocolate (this can be either chips or in bar form), canola oil, peppermint extract, white chocolate and most importantly, candy canes. Lightly grease a 9×9 pan and line it with wax paper.
Next turn on your stove to medium heat and place the semisweet chocolate and one teaspoon of canola oil in the top of a double boiler, stirring until the chocolate is completely melted. When it is melted, stir in the peppermint extract and then pour the chocolate mixture into the pan and spread it evenly. Sprinkle the crushed candy canes onto the chocolate and refrigerate until hardened or for one hour.
Once the chocolate has hardened, place the white chocolate and remaining canola oil in the top of the double boiler. When the chocolate has melted, add the peppermint extract and stir. Pour the white chocolate mixture over the pan and sprinkle remaining candy cane pieces on top. Refrigerate the bark until hardened, and break into pieces to serve. Enjoy!
Ingredients
- 8 ounces of semisweet chocolate
- 2 teaspoons of canola oil, divided
- ½ teaspoon of peppermint extract, divided
- 8 ounces of white chocolate
- 12 crushed candy canes
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