06 January 2011

Give Bark a Chance!

Alas, the time for extreme indulgence and over-eating has come and passed, and I'm guessing most of us enjoyed every moment of it filling up on peppermint bark, rich cocoa with whipped cream topping, egg-nog heavy on the spike, and dozens of glorious other sweets, treats and once-a-year snacks to beat the band. I know I did! The green bean casserole I mentioned in my Thanksgiving post made an appearance at Christmas eve dinner, along side a glazed am, candies (very candied) yams and a beautiful fresh salad of mixed baby greens, nuts and dried cranberries tossed with roasted sweet potatoes! My contribution to the evening was a beautiful pumpkin spice Bundt cake made with whole-wheat pastry flour and agave nectar. It was lovely, light and incredibly moist. 


The holiday time of year is usually a big time for baking and sharing food in my family, but sadly this year seemed to get away from us leaving little to no time for goodies and giving. I did, however, get the chance to share a couple of special new treats with my acting class classmates and a few friends at various impromptu gatherings. The most fun day for treats and sweets was having over a few of my favorite moms to decorate sugar cookies with all sorts of candies, crunchies, sprinkles and sugars. The children all had a blast and decorated a ton of cookies using the blue, green and red royal icings and, even covered in more candy and icing than there was cookie to support the sugary weight, they tasted amazing! There was also one ridiculously easy treat I whipped up on a few occasions for sharing at meetings, classes, and family events:Bark!


Barks are the easiest possible treat to make as long as you have the time to let them set/chill properly and firm up enough to break easily. All you need is the chocolate of your choice and a few things to mix in! The three varieties I made this year were Peppermint Marshmallow, Cherry Marshmallow Crunch and Salty Snack Crunch. 


To give you an idea of how easy it is, I've posted a recipe for you below. Really you can use anything you enjoy along side chocolate, and whatever strength and variety of chocolate you prefer will be great! I'm not a huge white "chocolate" fan because it has little flavor, aside from sweetness, thought it's good for a drizzle on top. It adds a little flourish and elegance to the presentation! Instead, I normally prefer a chocolate containing about 60-70% cocoa. Some bark recipes will call for melting chocolate or chocolate bars, but chips work best for me and they are the least expensive option while you still have plentiful options for high quality. (Tip: If you're a WinCo shopper, they have the best deal on Guittard chips and usually have 4-5 different varieties!)


You may say you can't make candy, you've never made anything like this, there's no way, but I promise you, it's so easy and anything goes! It's a budget-friendly, delicious, always-a-hit treat with endless possibilities for flavors and mix-ins. For example, my Salty Snack Crunch was made with extra-dark chocolate chips, potato chip and pretzel bits! 


My message to you in this start of the fresh, new year:
Give Bark  a Chance! 



Minty Marshmallow Peppermint Bark!


First, line a half-sheet pan with buttered wax paper 
(butter-side up) and set aside
In a double boiler, melt:
12 oz semi-sweet chocolate
12 oz extra dark chocolate
1/2 tsp pure mint extract
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
After the mixture is completely melted and smooth, add:
1/2 cup crushed peppermint candy
and spread out on the lined pan in an even, fairly thin, layer
Sprinkle chocolate layer with:
1 cup crushed peppermint candy
1 1/2 cups mini marshmallow
and set aside
In a double boiler melt:
1 cup vanilla chips
1/2 cup mint chips (found green ones by Guittard at Bartell Drugs, WinCo has them sometimes, but chocolate mint would work also, just wouldn’t be green)
After the vanilla and mint chips are completely melted, quickly drizzle with a spoon or fork, on top of the chocolate layer and sprinkle the top with one last layer of:
1/2 cup crushed peppermint candy 
Cool in the fridge until very hard, break apart and enjoy! Store in airtight container in the fridge for best results. 
(Courtney Rose Calkins December 11, 2010)

A few other perfect mix-ins are:
Chow-mien noodles
Nuts (Toasted, whole, halved, and/or chopped)
Chocolate and other types of chips (Cinnamon, peanut butter, etc.)
Dried fruits
Cookie bits
Bacon crumbles
Whatever you enjoy along side chocolate! 

I hope you all had a beautiful holiday season with family and friends, and had fun trying new things in the kitchen! 
Enjoy this recipe, share with the ones you love, and I wish you and yours a very happy new year full of love, food, time shared in the kitchen and around the family table. 




NEXT WEEK: My Favorite kitchen tools!

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