Christmas bark is something I remember fondly from childhood. Except the kind my mom and the neighbor lady’s made wasn’t quite as doctored up as this version.
Tis the season and the more goodies the merrier is the way I look at it. Fa la la la la.
It’s a ridiculously easy no-bake treat with Oreos, pretzels, peanuts, M&Ms, white chocolate chips, and holiday sprinkles all embedded into dark chocolate. In this busy season the words no-bake are Santa’s gifts to me.
Feel free to add whatever goodies you have on hand. Peanut butter cups, leftover Halloween candy, trash it up however you see fit.
It’s salty, sweet, and crunchy with so much texture and flavor in every bite. It hits all my dessert hot buttons and is perfect for cookie exchanges or impromptu holiday parties.
The recipe can easily be doubled, tripled, etc.
Chocolate tips: I use Trader Joe’s Pound Plus Bars because they melt beautifully and are well-priced. Specifically I use one-half pound of the 72% and one-half pound of the Dark.
If you can’t find it in your area, look for chocolate candy melts or try buying chocolate in bulk bins that looks like small discs. As a last resort use semi-sweet or milk chocolate chips because chocolate chips have stabilizers in them cause the chocolate chips to resist easy melting.
Loaded Christmas Bark
This loaded up holiday bark is a ridiculously easy no-bake treat with Oreos, pretzels, peanuts, M&Ms, white chocolate chips, and holiday sprinkles all embedded into dark chocolate. It’s salty, sweet, and crunchy with so much texture and flavor in every bite and is perfect for cookie exchanges or impromptu holiday parties. The recipe can easily be doubled, tripled, etc. Read the chocolate tips in the body of the blog post.
Yield: about 2 pounds bark
Prep Time:10 minutes
Cook Time:0 minutes
Total Time:about 1 hour, for cooling
Ingredients:
- 12 Oreos, quartered
- about 1 1/2 cups pretzels, coarsely chopped or broken
- 3/4 cup salted peanuts
- 1 pound semi-sweet or dark chocolate, coarsely chopped (I used Trader Joe’s Pound Plus Bars; one-half pound of the 72% and one-half pound of the Dark; read blog post for tips)
- 1/2 cup holiday colored M&Ms (I used plain but you can use peanut or your favorite variety)
- 1/2 cup white chocolate chips
- about 3 to 4 tablespoons holiday colored sprinkles, or as desired
Directions:
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and scatter the Oreos, pretzels, peanuts, and toss with your hands to mix. The dry ingredients should be touching but not overlapping; set aside.
- To a large, microwave-safe bowl add the chocolate and heat on high power for 30 seconds to melt. Stop to check and stir. Reheat in 15 second bursts until chocolate can be stirred smooth.
- Evenly drizzle the chocolate over the dry mixture on baking sheet. If there are stray dry ingredients around the perimeter that didn’t get coated with chocolate, it’s okay to toss them on top of the chocolate so they adhere.
- Before chocolate sets, evenly sprinkle the M&Ms, white chocolate chips, and sprinkles.
- Place tray in fridge or freezer until chocolate sets before breaking into pieces and serving. Bark will keep airtight at room temp for up to 2 weeks, in the fridge for at least 1 month, and in the freezer for at least 4 months. I store mine in the fridge (it’s warm in San Diego even in the winter) and take it out about 15 to 20 minutes before serving.
Recipe from Averie Cooks. All images and content are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If you want to republish this recipe, please re-write the recipe in your own words, or simply link back to this post for the recipe. Thank you.
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