Earlier this week, one of my colleagues brought in some white chocolate and pretzel bark to share with our office for the holidays. She packed a couple pieces in festive holiday bags and distributed them to people in our office. I was one of the lucky recipients of her white chocolate and pretzel bark. When I opened up the festive holiday bag and took a bite out of the bark, I could not stop myself from eating more. The bark had a perfect combination of crunchiness, creaminess, sweetness, and saltiness. I made a mental note to make a holiday version of this bark using cranberries and pistachios in red and green colors in the spirit of Christmas. When I returned home to Brooklyn for the holidays, I went to pick up ingredients for holiday bark (and gingerbread houses) with my younger brother and Kevin. I woke up early this morning to begin melting white chocolate chips and preparing the rest of the toppings for my bark. I love making treats and giving them to family and friends during the holidays. It is a fun, easy, and tasty way to show people you care about them. The easiest treats are usually the most delicious treats. I like to pair an edible gift with a thoughtful gift. Depending on the holiday or occasion, some of my favorite treats to gift to family and friends include pistachio chocolate truffles, maple lemon blueberry scones, strawberry cupcakes, chocolate dipped potato chips, s’mores crispy rice treats, and blueberry lemon cupcakes. The options are endless. It is always fun to mix in different colors, flavors, and textures into treats. When I made the holiday bark this morning, the chocolate pieces turned out vibrant and delicious. The bark had a perfect balance of textures, colors, and flavors. It made for the perfect edible gift to give alongside other gifts I had purchased. Holiday bark is a great dessert or snack to serve during a party, while wrapping gifts, or when catching up with friends over cocktails. It is also perfect served on a charcuterie board like my version here.
Holiday Bark:
· 1 (12 ounce) package white chocolate chips
· ¼ cup crushed pretzels
· 2 tablespoons dried cranberries
· 2 tablespoons pistachios, unsalted, shells removed
Directions:
1) Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
2) Pour half of the bag of white chocolate chips into a large microwave safe bowl. Microwave on high heat in 30 second intervals until chocolate chips are almost melted through. Add the remaining bag of chocolate chips to the bowl. Stir until all of the chocolate chips are melted and a smooth chocolate is formed.
3) Pour the melted chocolate in one even layer onto the parchment lined baking sheet. Generously distribute the crushed pretzels, dried cranberries, and pistachios all over the white chocolate bark. Work quickly to ensure the melted chocolate does not harden before you’ve had a chance to add the pretzels, cranberries, and pistachios.
4) Let the chocolate bark rest for 15 minutes. Place the baking sheet in the refrigerator for an hour to completely set the chocolate bark.
Takeaways: Chocolate bark can easily be customized to suit your taste. Other combinations you can try are milk chocolate, almond, and cranberries, or just a basic white chocolate, and crushed pretzels. There really is no hard and fast rule for how many toppings you can add.
12/26/18 Update: I made a dark chocolate version featuring all of the same ingredients. It turned out equally delicious!
