I was 32 when I started cooking; up until then, I just ate. --Julia Child
I love making chocolate bark. It's a simple, but elegant treat. Perfect for a girls' night in with great bottle of wine. Or, an ice cold glass of milk. Yum.
Chocolate Bark
12 oz. bittersweet or dark chocolate
8 oz. milk chocolate
Cinnamon
1 cup dried cranberries, cherries, or golden raisins
3/4 cup toasted pecans, chopped
1/4 cup toasted coconut flakes
1-2 pinches of sea salt
1 baking sheet, pizza pan, or cutting board covered with aluminum foil
- Place a small pot of water on the stove and bring to a boil, then lower to a simmer.
- Put the chocolate (chop it up in small pieces if you aren't using chips) in a heat-safe bowl and set on top of the pot, but make sure the water does not touch the bottom of the bowl.
- Slowly stir and melt the chocolate until smooth and shiny.
- Stir in a pinch or two of cinnamon.
- Pour onto baking sheet and spread evenly into a rectangular shape, making sure the chocolate is at least 1/4 of an inch thick.
- Put the dried fruit, nuts and coconut in a bowl and mix. Then, sprinkle over the melted chocolate.
- Dust with sea salt and put in the fridge to chill at least an hour.
- Once set, chop into irregular pieces and enjoy!
You can add infinite toppings to this. Sometimes I top this bark with slivered almonds and dried cherries. Or chopped peanuts and white chocolate drizzle. Or chopped pretzels and melted peanut butter. Mmmm. We had a stack of chocolate bars from Grenada that transformed this bark into something heavenly and rich. But, a bag of chocolate chips works well too. Really, there is no way to mess this up. The possibilities are endless...and oh so tasty.
Fun!
xoxoxo
