White Chocolate Holiday Bark

I am in full holiday mode now-we bought our Christmas tree last night and did some decorating. This is our first year having our own tree-we usually travel for the holidays, but this year we are staying home. I am excited to start our own traditions. We both have all of our ornaments from when we were kiddies, the tree is random, but in a good way:)

I made a batch of chocolate bark at Halloween and everyone loved it. It is the perfect quick candy for any holiday. I always make the traditional peppermint bark, but this year I branched out and made a sampler platter. I created: cranberry almond bark, pretzel M&M bark, and the classic peppermint bark. It was fun mixing things up.

The white chocolate base goes nicely with all of the flavors. Cranberry and almond are the perfect holiday combination. The pretzel bark tastes like chocolate dipped pretzels, without all of the work. And of course the peppermint bark is delicious and refreshing-everyone loves this stuff!

If you need an easy treat to make for your neighbors, family, and friends-make my holiday bark. Try all three flavors-they are all wonderful!

My dear friend Gaby, from What’s Gaby Cooking?, created a Winter White Chocolate Mix that looks amazing! It is White Chocolate Friday:) Make this sweet snack to munch on during the holidays!

And some good news-my Apple Cinnamon Cookie Bars were featured on Saveur-the best of the web! Yahoo!

White Chocolate Holiday Bark

(Printable Recipe)

14 ounces white chocolate

Dried cranberries
Sliced almonds
Crushed pretzels
Mini M&M's-red and green
Holiday sprinkles
Crushed candy canes

1. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a Silpat. (I used my Silpat)

2. Place the white chocolate in a metal bowl. Put the metal bowl over a pot of simmering water. Make sure the bowl does not touch the water. Stir the chocolate frequently with a rubber spatula. When the chocolate is smooth and fully melted, remove the bowl from the heat. Wipe off the bowl if there is any condensation.

3. Let the white chocolate cool for a minute or two. Stir to make sure it doesn't harden. Pour the chocolate onto the baking sheet with parchment paper or Silpat. Spread it with a spatula until it is about 3/8 inch thick.

4. Sprinkle the toppings over the white chocolate. I did this in sections-a section for the cranberry almond, a section for the pretzel, M&M, sprinkles, and a section for the candy canes.

5. Let the chocolate cool and harden. I put the pan in the refrigerator. It was ready in about 30-45 minutes.

7. Once the chocolate is set and hard, break bark into pieces.

If you like my holiday bark, you might also like:
Peppermint Bark Chocolate Cookies from Genesis of a Cook
Peppermint Bark Cookies from Two Peas and Their Pod
White Chocolate Bark with Fresh Mint and Berries from Serious Eats

Halloween Chocolate Candy Bark

We have been busy with our basement remodel project so we really haven't thought about Halloween this year. I don't even know if we will dress up. Josh wanted to be an Orka whale, but he couldn't find a costume. Darn:) He is known for his crazy costumes, so I am sure he will come up with something. We do have pumpkins and I made Halloween Chocolate Candy Bark over the weekend.

My neighborhood friend, Anna, came over on Saturday and helped me with the chocolate bark. We used a recipe from A Field Guide to Candy, by Anita Chu. I've been a huge fan of Anita's blog, Dessert First, for years. I was finally able to meet her at the Blogher conference and she is just as sweet as her desserts:) I just love her. I was so excited to try a recipe from her new candy book.

The bark was really easy to make. We used white chocolate as the base and added in crushed Oreos, Butterfinger pieces, and M & M's. We drizzled the Butterfinger section with milk chocolate too.

Once the bark hardened up, we broke it into chunks. I loved how fun and festive it looked. If you are looking for an easy treat for Halloween, give this bark a try. The monsters and gobblins will love it:)

Don't forget to check out Anita's book, A Field Guide to Candy. There are over 100 candy recipes that will surely send you into sugar heaven. I can't wait to try them all!

Halloween Chocolate Candy Bark

Adapted from A Field Guide to Candy by Anita Chu

(Printable Recipe)

14 ounces white chocolate

Crushed up Oreos

Crushed up Butterfinger Bars

Mini M & M's

Milk Chocolate-for drizzling

1. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. Place the white chocolate in a metal bowl. Put the metal bowl over a pot of simmering water. Make sure the bowl does not touch the water. Stir the chocolate frequently with a rubber spatula. When the chocolate is smooth and fully melted, remove the bowl from the heat. Wipe off the bowl if there is any condensation.

3. Let the white chocolate cool for a minute or two. Stir to make sure it doesn't harden. Pour the chocolate onto the baking sheet with parchment paper. Spread it with a spatula until it is about 3/8 inch thick.

4. Sprinkle Oreos, Butterfinger pieces, M & M's over the white chocolate. I did this in sections.

5. Melt the milk chocolate in the microwave and drizzle over the Butterfinger portion.

6. Let the chocolate cool and harden. I put the pan in the refrigerator. It was ready in about 30-45 minutes.

7. Once the chocolate is set and hard, break bark into pieces.

If you like my Halloween Bark, you might also like:

Vanilla Bean Chocolates from Dessert First

Tootsie Roll Fudge from Food Blogga

Candy Corn Cookies from The Cooking Photographer

Peanut Butter Cups from Vanilla Sugar

Pumpkin Blondies from Two Peas and Their Pod