If you’ve never made homemade chocolate bark you are in for a treat! This chocolate bark recipe is a simple dessert you’ll want to make every holiday season.

Here at Cottage Living & Style, we understand how busy the holidays can be. December is always a time of year that is filled with family, friends, concerts, shopping, baking, planning and the list goes on.

The next time you need a quick gift or treat, make this easy recipe that we guarantee will be a hit!

The best thing about this recipe is that it only takes 10 minutes of prep to make, and the ingredients are 100% customizable to your taste and dietary needs!

Chocolate Bark

The instructions below are for what we included but feel free to swap out any of the ingredients. If you check your baking cupboard, you probably have enough items already at home to whip up a delicious batch with only a few items needed from the grocery store.

Ingredients

6 plain chocolate bars of your choice (we used 2 white, 2 milk, and 2 dark)

1 cup of chopped peanuts

6 TBSP of coconut oil

1 cup of crushed pretzels

¼ cup holiday sprinkles or crushed candy canes

1 cup of mini marshmallows

1 cup of holiday baking chips

1 tbsp flaky salt

Instructions

1.      Mix all the items you want to use in a large bowl (everything except the chocolate bars and coconut oil) then lay out a thin layer onto a sheet pan lined with parchment paper or wax paper.

2.      In a microwave-safe bowl, mix two of your white chocolate bars with 2TBSP of coconut oil.

3.      Microwave for 30-second increments on low heat, stirring between intervals until the chocolate is smooth and melted.

4.      Once the chocolate melts, drizzle an even layer overtop of the cookie sheet ingredients. A rubber spatula will help you get all the last bits of chocolate out of the bowl!

5.      Using the same bowl (it’s all going to get mixed together anyway so why dirty another dish to wash!) repeat steps 2 and 3 with the dark chocolate and milk chocolate.

6.      Once you have drizzled all three kinds of chocolate, and a sprinkling of sea salt, pop the entire tray into the fridge to let it set.

7.      After about 1 hour, you can break apart the bark into small chunks using clean hands or with a sharp knife on a cutting board. No time in an hour? No worries! We did ours the next day!

Tips to Make the Best Chocolate Bark

If you don’t have a heat-proof bowl or a microwave. You could also use a small saucepan over another small saucepan to create your own double boiler.

For a mess free recipe. I personally like using a piece of parchment paper on a 10-inch rectangle pan.

Make it seasonal. Use festive colors and ingredients. We made some with candy canes, pistachios and dried cranberries.

Chocolate Bark Variations

If you want to try some other fun items to include in your bark, you can use 1/2 cup per topping. Choose from the list below, crushing and chopping if needed.

• Dried fruit
• Nuts: crushed walnuts, slivered almonds, macadamias or peanuts area some of my personal favorites.
• Crushed candy cane
• coconut: dried unsweetened coconut flakes are great for garnishing on top, or shredded coconut.
• Flakey sea salt
• Cranberries
• Mint chocolate chips
• Pretzels
• Crushed chips: salted potato chips or try plantain chips.

For me, it’s the sweet mixed with the salty that makes this bark so appealing but feel free to make whatever type of bark speaks to you. The list is endless; peanut butter bark, peppermint bark, dark chocolate bark, white chocolate bark, semisweet chocolate bark; you get the idea 🙂

We combined three different types of chocolate in ours because we couldn’t decide!

To finish them off and make them pretty so you can give them as gifts, I packaged them in clear cellophane bags and tied them with a cute and festive bow.

These delicious treats can be kept for several weeks at room temperature or in the refrigerator if your house is overly warm. Why not make ahead for an easy dessert? For longer longevity, we do recommend storing it in an airtight container.

If you are looking for the simplest way to make the perfect bow, check out this quick tutorial we swear by!

These were a big hit in our household and I hope they are in yours too!

We should also mention this is a great way to also get the kids involved as they can help pick out the treats and mix the items together and feel proud of the great gift they helped to make.

Going to a holiday party? or hosting this season? check out these posts:

• How to Make a Holiday Cheese Board
• What to Wear When your Hosting
• Hosting a Gingerbread House Decorating Party