Cherry Hazelnut Bark and Peppermint Bark

Cherry Hazelnut Bark

1. Preheat oven to 350F
2. Put raw whole hazelnuts on a baking sheet in a 350 degree oven for 10 to 15 minutes.  Give the pan a shake from time to time.  Cool the nuts and then chop them.
3. Put both bags of chocolate in a glass bowl (a quart sized glass measuring cup works great) and microwave for 60 seconds.  Continue microwaving and checking every 30 seconds until the chips are melted, stirring each time.  The two bags will take longer and more stirring than just one.
4. Quickly mix in the nuts and cherries and spread out on a silpat or parchment lined baking sheet. Don't worry about making it an even rectangle because you're going to be breaking it up into irregular shapes anyway, just try to get the bark to a relatively even thickness.
5. Refrigerate until completely set, at least an hour or more.
6. Break the bark into whatever sized pieces you want.

Peppermint Bark

1. Melt the dark chocolate as above, and spread out on a lined baking sheet.  Put in the fridge to cool completely, about an hour.
2. Melt the white chocolate and stir in the peppermint bits.
3. Spread out on top of the hardened dark chocolate.
4. Put back in the fridge for at least an hour.
5. Break into pieces.  Sometimes the white layer breaks off from the dark layer in spots, don't worry about it.  This stuff is so good it doesn't matter how it gets in your mouth, just that it gets there.