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

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

I hope you are not sick of pumpkin recipes, because I have another one for you today:) I love pumpkin chocolate chip cookies. They are a MUST bake every fall. This year I did some playing around and came up with a fabulous Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookie.

Halloween is the kick off to the holiday eating season. I decided to create a healthier cookie to balance out the rest of the sugary treats. I cut the butter in half and used applesauce and pumpkin instead. I also used half whole wheat flour and added in oatmeal-yea for added fiber! I did add chocolate chips because I love pumpkin and chocolate together, but raisins or dried cranberries would be good too!

I loved these cookies. They are plump, cakey cookies that don't disappoint. I put some in the freezer and I liked them better frozen:) Mmmmm!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

(Printable Recipe)

4 T unsalted butter, at room temperature

½ c. brown sugar

1/3 c. white sugar

1/4 c. applesauce

¾ c. pumpkin

1 egg

1 ½ tsp. vanilla

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. cinnamon

¼ tsp. nutmeg

¼ tsp. all spice

¾ c. all purpose flour

1/2 c. whole wheat flour

1 1/4 c. oats

1 cup chocolate chips

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. Cream the butter with the sugars until soft and creamy, using a mixer.

3. Add in applesauce, pumpkin, egg and vanilla.

4. In a separate bowl combine the salt, baking powder, soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, all spice, and flour. Whisk the ingredients together.

5. Add flour mixture to wet ingredients, with the mixer on low. Mix until blended.

6. Add the oats and briefly mix. Stir in the chocolate chips.

7. Scoop tablespoons of dough onto a baking sheet that has a Silpat or parchment paper. 8. Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes! Let cool on a rack.

If you like my pumpkin cookies, you might also like:
Pumpkin Cookies with Caramel Frosting from Baking Addiction
Spicy Pumpkin Whoopie Pies from Andrea Meyers
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bars from Whipped
Spiced Pumpkin Cookie Cakes from Pink Stripes
Pumpkin Cupcakes from Two Peas and Their Pod

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

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake

Sorry if I scared any of you with my mention of the pumpkin shortage. I went grocery shopping this weekend and it looks like pumpkin is back in full force. So stock up and try this pumpkin chocolate chip bundt cake.

I like bundt cakes. They are pretty and usually don't require frosting. I am not a frosting fan, I usually scrape it off:) If you are a frosting fan, don't worry, you won't miss it with this cake.

I chopped up E. Guittard milk chocolate bars and stirred them into the pumpkin spice cake. The chocolate chunks were the perfect addition. I just love pumpkin and chocolate together.

I dusted the cake with powdered sugar and served it to our friends that came over to visit. They really enjoyed it. If you want, you could finish the cake with a glaze or chocolate ganache, but it is superb on it's own.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake

Adapted from Epicurious, Gourmet

(Printable Recipe)

2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature

2 1/4 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

3/4 teaspoon ground allspice

Pinch of fresh nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/4 cups canned solid-pack pumpkin (I used Libby's, not pumpkin pie filling)

3/4 cup well-shaken buttermilk

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

1 1/4 cups granulated sugar

3 large eggs

Chocolate chunks or chocolate chips ( I used E. Guittard milk chocolate bars and chopped them)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a 10 inch bundt pan, then dust with flour, knocking out excess.

Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, allspice, fresh nutmeg, and salt in a bowl. Whisk together pumpkin,buttermilk, and vanilla in a separate bowl.

Beat butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until creamy. Add in eggs one at a time, while mixing on low.On low, add flour and pumpkin mixtures in batches, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Mix just until combined, don't overmix. By hand, stir in the chocolate chunks.

Spoon cake batter into pan, smoothing top. Pound the pan on the counter to settle the batter. Bake until a toothpick comes out clean in the center of cake, about 45- 50 minutes. Cool the cake in the pan, on a rack, for 15 minutes. Invert rack over cake and reinvert cake onto rack. Cool completely before serving. Dust with powdered sugar, if desired.

If you like this pumpkin cake, you might also like:

Pumpkin Cake Pops from Recipe Girl

Pumpkin Butterscotch Cake from Peabody

Apple Pumpkin Cake from Zoe Bakes

Pumpkin Cake Roll from Two Peas and Their Pod

Pumpkin Blondies with Cinnamon and White Chocolate Chips

I met Gaby, from What's Gaby Cooking?, at the Blogher Food Conference in San Francisco. We follow each other's blogs, we are friends on Facebook and Twitter, and we email, so it was nice to finally meet in person. We have a lot in common-sometimes we post the same or similar recipes without even knowing it:)

We wish we could cook and bake together, but she lives in California and I am in Utah. So every Friday we are teaming up from afar and posting similar recipes. For the next couple of weeks we will be focusing on our favorite fall recipes. Today is Pumpkin Treats-I made pumpkin blondies and Gaby made pumpkin cheesecakes. We hope you enjoy our joint posts.

It's not fall without pumpkin treats, but there is a pumpkin shortage going on. Aggh! I had to go to 4 stores to find 3 cans of pumpkin. I bought them all. I will have to be very selective on what I bake with pumpkin this fall until the shortage is over.

I started out with pumpkin blondies. Of course, cinnamon, nutmeg, and lots of vanilla were involved. I also threw in cinnamon chips and white chocolate. The blondies were more cakey than a normal cookie blondie, the pumpkin kept them very moist. I loved the cinnamon and white chocolate together too. I highly recommend you try that combination.

We took the pumpkin blondies to our neighborhood party and they were gone in minutes-no joke. Everyone was asking for the recipe. So here you have it! Good luck finding pumpkin-if I see you at the store, I will tackle you for it:)

Don't forget to check out Gaby's pumpkin swirl cheesecake! It looks super duper delicious!

Pumpkin Blondies with Cinnamon and White Chocolate Chips

Adapted from Martha Stewart

(Printable Recipe)

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons of cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon fresh nutmeg

1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup brown sugar
1 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup canned pumpkin puree
1 cup white chocolate chips

1 cup cinnamon chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line bottom and sides of a 9-by-13-inch baking pan with foil, leaving an overhang on all sides.Spray with cooking spray.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, and salt.
With an electric mixer, cream butter and both sugars until smooth. Beat in the egg and vanilla until well blended. Add the pumpkin puree. Reduce speed to low, and mix in the flour mixture until just combined. Don't overmix. Stir in the white and cinnamon chips by hand.

Spread batter evenly into the prepared pan. Bake for about 35-40 minutes. The sides will pull away from the pan and brown a bit. Do the toothpick test, if it comes out clean. They are done. Cool completely in pan. Lift the blondies from the pan, using the foil. from pan. Peel off the foil and cut into squares.

If you like these pumpkin blondies you might also like:

Pumpkin Pie Snickerdoodle Bars from Megan’s Cookin

Pumpkin Swirl Brownies from Cookie Madness

Pumpkin Bars from Real Mom Kitchen

Pumpkin White Chocolate Scones from Two Peas and Their Pod