Chocolate Bark Recipes

Description

Add dried fruit, small candles or nuts for a sweet treat. Change the type of candy to make it a holiday treat. Great gift idea for teachers or someone you would like to say thank you to! At Christmas we make several sweet treats, bag them in clear cello bags and give some to our mail carrier, trash collection, baby sitter and neighbors.

Fruit and Nut Bark

Ingredients

• White Chocolate or Semi-Sweet Chocolate
• Sprinkles, Small Candies, Dried Fruit, Nuts (check for allergies if children are eating this)

Other Materials

• Cookie Tray
• Parchment Paper
• Spoon
• Double boiler, Microwaveable bowl or a chocolate melting pot.

We bought a electric chocolate melting pot and really liked them but we did a lot of projects and wore them out. After two broke, we did some research. We purchased 2 sizes of these Stainless Steel Double Boiler Pot. It is very easy to use and clean. Much easier to melt chocolate slowly than a microwave. There are several sizes and you just hook it over a pot with water that you boil on the stove. Just move pot from burner or turn off heat once you get the desired consistency. Turn the stove back on if it starts to harden or if you need more chocolate.

Steps

• Line cookie sheet with a piece of parchment paper
• Place selected candies, dried fruit or nuts into a bowl
• Put 2 or 3 squares of chocolate bark into a microwave safe bowl.
• Microwave as directed or 30 seconds. Stir and repeat at 15 second intervals. Mix well after each heating.
• Carefully pour onto center of parchment paper.
• Gently shift the parchment paper to side and the chocolate will spread into an even flat shape. Do not make it too thin. Adult should do this step.
• Add more chocolate and repeat if necessary.
• Drop selected candies, nuts or dried fruit onto the chocolate.
• Let cool and harden on the parchment paper.
• For faster results, cool in refrigerator for about 20 minutes. Do not store in the refrigerator.
• Keep whole or break into smaller pieces.
• Place in clear gift bag, small box or serve on a decorative plate.

Topping Ideas

Tailor the Ingredients to the Occasion for a Holiday or Party. Here are some of our favorite toppings.

• Crushed Peppermint Candies
• Crushed Heath or Butterfinger Candy
• Crushed Cookies like Oreos
• Crushed Pretzels
• Seasonal Colored Candies like M and M's
• Seasonal Candies like Red Hots, Candy Corn
• Candy sprinkles used for cookies and cupcakes
• Nuts (if for an older toddler not allergic or an adult)
• Fruit Gummies

Christmas Chocolate Bark and Halloween Chocolate Bark

We simply changed the ingredients to a more holiday related theme by using Christmas M & M's and silver sprinkles for the Christmas one. We used Candy Corn and pretzels for the Halloween themed bark. We put it in clear cello bags with colored twist ties to give to teachers at the school.

Tips and Suggestions

• When heating chocolate, stir well for at least 30 seconds to spread heat evenly. The hotter part will melt some of the chocolate as you stir.
• Very Important: Heat until just melted and chocolate is smooth and shiny. Chocolate scorches easily.

St. Patrick's Day Treats

Leprechaun Chocolate Bark

Ingredients

• 1 lb Premium white chocolate chips, almond bark or candy melts. We used 1 1/2 cups of Toll House Premium White Chocolate.
• 10 Mint Oreos (mint green filling)
• 3/4 cup of stick pretzels (measure unbroken)
• Mini Marshmallows or Lucky Charm Marshmallows
• Green, white and yellow sprinkles

Materials

• Bowl or Chocolate Melter
• Cookie pan lined with waxed paper or parchment paper
• Measuring cup
• Spatula

Steps to Make St. Patrick Days Candy Bark

• Line cookie sheet with parchment paper or waxed paper.
• Break up the Oreos into small pieces. We did about 8th's. Use your hands to break it into pieces, crushing makes a lot of crumbs.
• Break pretzel sticks in halves or thirds.
• Lay the Oreo pieces and the pretzels flat on lined cookie sheet.

• Lay oreos and pretzels flat on a parchment lined cookie sheet.
• Melt chocolate in microwave, chocolate melting pot or using a double boiler.
• Pour melted chocolate over the oreo and pretzel mix. Use spatula to scrape all the chocolate out of the bowl and gently smooth over the oreo pretzel mixture.
• Drop the marshmallows or Lucky Charm marshmallows over the chocolate. Gently press pieces into chocolate. I used a clean spatula to gently press the pieces in place just enough to stick.
• Add the sprinkles of choice.
• Let harden in the refrigerator for a couple hours.
• Break into large pieces.

Tips for Making our St. Patrick's Day Candy Bark

• Do not overheat the chocolate it will scorch or add any water. Water will ruin the consistency of the chocolate.
• You can also use Girl Scouts Thin Mints as an alternative to Green Oreos.
• Original recipe said 1 lb of chocolate. Most of the bags are labeled in grams. I found that the Nestle Premium white chocolate had 2 cups measured in the regular bag. I used a kitchen scale and it took about 3/4 cup of chips to make 1/2 lb.

Peppermint Bark

Crushed peppermint candies make this a perfect holiday treat. Or use sprinkles to match your party theme and make it any time of the year. There are all different colors and types of sprinkles you can select from. You can use crushed candies, sugar crystals, shape or holiday sprinkles. Nuts can be used to if you know your guests are allergy free.

Ingredients

• 1 (12 ounce) bag Nestle Tollhouse Semi Sweet or Milk Chocolate Morsel
• 1 (12 ounce) Nestle Tollhouse Premium White Chocolate Morsels
• Peppermint candies or a box of 8 candy canes

Steps

• Line a pan with waxed paper or parchment paper
• Small Microwave Safe Bowl or Wilton Chocolate Melter or double boiler
• Freezer Ziploc for crushing candies
• Spoon for mixing.

• Place candies in freezer Ziploc bag. I put a dishtowel on a cutting board and the bag of candy on top of this. Crush the candy using a small rolling pin or meat tenderizer..
• Melt your chocolate slowly with a double boiler, melting pot or microwave.
Since microwaves vary, you will have to adjust the time to your microwave if this is your method of melting your chocolate. Start with 30 seconds, stir well with wooden spoon, add 15 seconds as needed. Heat until just melted. Chocolate should be warm not hot. Chocolate scorches very easily and will taste burnt if heated too long.
• Line a pan or container with parchment paper or waxed paper. Pour chocolate onto waxed paper to desired thickness.
• Sprinkle 1/2 the crushed candies over the chocolate layer. Refrigerate for 15 minutes.
• Melt white chocolate. Pour evenly over the dark layer of chocolate.
• Sprinkle the rest of the peppermint candies and gently press the candies into the chocolate. Refrigerate until completely hardened.
• Remove from pan and break into pieces from the back, this will cause less of the peppermint candies to fall off.

Other Peppermint Bark Ideas

We experimented with the Wilton Brownie mold and it made bite sized squares that popped out easily. These are great for making it as a party treat where it is a smaller portion. We also had some left over chocolate so we dipped some peppermint sticks and pretzels.

Gift Idea

Tips for Storing Chocolate

In general, it's best to keep chocolate at room temperature, fully wrapped and away from heat and water. In the refrigerator, it can produce moisture on the chocolate.