How to Make Chocolate Bark

Chocolate bark is a popular treat around the holidays and is a perfect snack to bring to a party. Chocolate bark is incredibly easy to make and can be whipped up in less than 1 hour! Using ingredients that might already be in your home, including nuts, chocolate chips, and dried fruit, you can make a delicious treat for friends and family.

EditIngredients

• 3/4 cup (170 grams) of raw nuts or hard candy
• of chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup (57 grams) of dried fruit

EditSteps

EditGetting the Nuts and Chocolate Ready

1. Toast the nuts at for 5-10 minutes. Measure ¾ cup (170 grams) of raw nuts and place them on a rimmed baking sheet covered in aluminum foil. Toast the nuts for about 8 minutes, or until their edges turn golden. Sometimes the nuts will turn golden in as little as 6 minutes. Other times, they’ll take closer to 10 minutes. Check on the nuts after 5 minutes to monitor their progress.^[1]
   
   • You can choose from almonds, hazelnuts, pecans, or pistachios. If you want to use more than 1 kind of nut, go right ahead!
2. Chop the nuts into small pieces. Transfer the nuts from the oven to a cutting board once they've cooled. Scoop the nuts into a pile and roughly chop them with a large knife.^[2]
   
   
   • If you can't or don't want to use nuts, substitute a hard candy like Jolly Ranchers, peppermints, or M&Ms for your crunchy ingredient. Put these candies on a plate and stick them in the microwave for 10 seconds to soften them up. Then, transfer the candies to your cutting board and chop them up into tiny pieces.^[3]
3. Melt of chocolate chips in the microwave. Take the chocolate chips and place them in a microwave-safe bowl. Then, put the bowl in the microwave and melt the chocolate in 30-second increments. Take the bowl out after each 30-second increment and stir the chocolate with a spatula.^[4]
   
   
   • When the chocolate is about 90% melted, it’s done. Keep stirring at that point to completely dissolve the remaining pieces.
   • You can use chocolate bars instead of chocolate chips if desired. Additionally, choose your favorite kind of chocolate, whether that's white, milk, dark, or a combination.

EditCombining Your Ingredients to Make Chocolate Bark

1. Spread the chocolate over a parchment-lined baking sheet. Use a spatula to transfer the melted chocolate from the bowl to the baking sheet. Spread the chocolate evenly over the middle of the baking sheet. Make the layer of chocolate about thick.^[5]
   
   
   
   • If you make the thickness about , the chocolate won’t reach the edges of the baking sheet and will be easier to remove from the sheet when it’s hardened.
2. Sprinkle the chopped nuts and dried fruit over the chocolate. Take the nuts and spread them evenly over the layer of chocolate. Then, take ¼ cup (57 grams) of dried fruit and sprinkle it onto the chocolate. Use your palms to lightly press the nuts and fruit into the chocolate.^[6]
   
   
   • As an alternative, you can combine the nuts and chocolate before placing the 2 ingredients on the baking sheet. This way, the chocolate will harden around the nuts as opposed to below them.
3. Let the chocolate cool at room temperature for 2-4 hours so it can harden. Once you’ve added the nuts and fruit, give the bark time to cool and harden. Check on the bark after 2 hours to see how it’s doing. Lightly poke at it with a spatula to feel if it has hardened.^[7]
   
   • If you feel the nuts and fruit move within the chocolate, it hasn’t completely hardened yet.
4. Break the chocolate into pieces with your hands. Wash your hands and break up the bark into about 25 pieces. You don’t need to break the bark into similar-shaped pieces. Instead, break the bark into triangles and squares that are about long.^[8]
   
   
   • Serve the bark immediately so everyone can eat it when it’s fresh and ready.
5. Store the bark at room temperature to save it for later. If you don’t want to eat all of the bark in one sitting, store the remaining pieces in an air-tight container at room temperature. Chocolate bark will stay fresh for up to 1 week.^[9]
   
   
   • You can also keep the chocolate bark in the fridge, but only store it in the fridge for 3-4 days at most.

EditReferences

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from How to of the Day http://bit.ly/2JQRzGz
via Peter