Costco Fans Are So Excited For The Return Of This Festive Peppermint Bark

While some Christmas treats are actually the kinds of thing you'd eat — or drink — all winter long, like hot chocolate and cookies, other stuff like candy canes, eggnog, and fruitcake all seem to hit their expiration date, at least as far as our willingness to eat them goes, once December 26 rolls around. (Okay, we lied about fruitcake. Even the holiest and jolliest turn Grinchy when confronted with this doorstop-masquerading-as-dessert.)

One such seasonal confection is peppermint bark, which, while extremely delicious in small quantities, is something that generally isn't the kind of candy you'll find yourself craving year-round. As a peppermint-based confection, it needs to stay strictly in its candy cane lane, which is why you'll only ever see it sold in the month of December. Which is all the more reason why, if you love the stuff, and also happen to be a Costco member (or are up on all the shop-for-free hacks), you'll want to make that Costco run ASAP since peppermint bark has finally arrived. Instagrammer costcobuys reported seeing it in their local store just a few days ago, and so far nearly 1,600 people have received these tidings with great joy. Among the comments received are "yyuummmyyyy," "yummmmm," and "I need."

This Kirkland Signature bark, which sells for $9.99 in-store or $12.49 from markup-happy Instacart, is made from Belgian milk chocolate plus crushed peppermint candies. Costco review blog Costcuisine says it certainly looks Instagram-worthy, calling it "visually appealing compared to other barks I've seen in the past [with] the candy cane bits on top giv[ing] it a sparkly, festive look." As far as the flavor goes — well, the reviewer wasn't all that overwhelmed by it, although she did admit that she finds bark candies on the whole to be too much of a good thing. She did, however, seem to think that the Kirkland version is pretty good as far as peppermint bark goes, saying, "the chocolate is creamy milk chocolate that has great texture and flavor, and the peppermint candy cane pieces complement it well," and was pleased that the quantity of the latter was sufficient to provide some "sparkle and ... a nice crunchy and peppermint flavor" without overpowering the chocolate.

If this Costco-sized portion is too much for you and you don't have a crowd to share it with, you could always try baking cookies or brownies with it. It might make for a tasty ice cream topping as well, or it could be blended into milkshakes. One Instagram commenter also suggested you "put some of it in your coffee!! It's just like Starbucks peppermint mocha." You could even try freezing it, just in case you do get that odd craving for Christmas flavors come July.