Learn how to make the best Christmas chocolate bark. A wonderful way to transform plain chocolate into a special treat to share!
This Christmas chocolate bark is probably one of my most favourite edible homemade gifts to make.
It's super quick to prepare and easy to customize to meet your taste and the ones of the people you love.
Homemade foodie holiday gifts are my favourite things to receive for Christmas.
How can you not love personalized gifts that are made with all the love and care possible?
From all the bark recipes out there, this one is definitely my favourite, as it includes healthy-ish ingredients and no extra sugar.
I love the delicious combination of smooth dark chocolate, crunchy chopped pistachio and almonds, and sweet dried cranberry.
They make this bark so colourful and festive, and since these ingredients are naturally sweet, you can skip any extra sugar.
WHAT KIND OF CHOCOLATE YOU NEED
Always use high-quality chocolate for the best results.
For me, it's got to be dark chocolate, preferably the bitter-sweet 70% kind.
You can totally play around and use white chocolate or milk chocolate if you like.
And you can also use dairy-free alternatives or mix-and-match dark & white chocolate for an awesome marble-effect bark.
Moreover, you can use chocolate chips, or chocolate bars chopped into little chunks.
EXTRA INGREDIENTS
All you need to make this gorgeous Christmas chocolate bark is 3 main basic ingredients:
- chocolate
- nuts
- dried fruit
Once you have picked your favourite chocolate, you'll just need some nuts and dried fruit of your choice.
NUTS AND SEEDS
Add extra crunchiness to your bark using your favourite nuts.
I've used almond and pistachios, but you can literally top your chocolate bark with any nuts and seeds you like.
Use chopped nuts or whole nuts, from roasted hazelnuts and pumpkin seeds to pecan nuts or macadamia nuts, the sky is the limit.
DRIED FRUIT
No festive bark is complete with some delicious dried fruits.
For a traditional holiday, treat opt for soft dried cranberries, but chopped dried apricots are yummy too.
To make things a little exotic try dried chopped mango, it's simply divine.
EXTRA TOPPINGS
- Sea salt works brilliantly with dark chocolate, enhancing the natural flavour of the chocolate.
- Dried chilli flakes will give you a warm spicy kick, whilst a pinch of cinnamon is always welcome.
- A swirl of dulce de leche is almost impossible to resist.
- Some creative holiday toppings include mini marshmallows, candy canes, mini-pretzels, or peanut butter cups.
And if you're looking to try a classic, give peppermint bark a try too.
HOW TO MAKE THIS CHOCOLATE BARK
This chocolate bark recipe comes together in just as little as 10 mins, requiring very little effort from your side.
- Melt the chocolate.
- Pour the melted chocolate over a baking sheet covered with parchment paper, and top with all your favourite toppings.
- Now, all you have to do is wait until your chocolate bark is set up, it should take about 1-2 hours.
- Then just break it up into pieces and enjoy these delicious bites of goodness.
Making this Christmas chocolate bark is so much fun especially if you have kids, I'm sure they'll have a great time making their own.
Each bite is a roller-coaster of textures and flavours, and because you can swap in any fruit or nuts you like, every batch will taste completely different and absolutely yummy.
MORE CHRISTMAS DESSERT RECIPES TO TRY
DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE?
Please let me know how you liked it! Leave a comment below and share a picture on Instagram with the hashtag #thepetitecook!
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Recipe
Best Christmas Chocolate Bark
Ingredients
- 300 g dark/milk/white chocolate or chocolate chips, I use Belgian 70% dark chocolate
- 120 g unsalted pistachios, roughly chopped
- 120 g soft dried cranberries, chopped
- a handful of almond flakes, optional
- sea salt flakes
Instructions
- Place ⅔ of chocolate chips in a heat-proof bowl over a pan of simmering water. Stir the chocolate until melted, then take off the heat and stir in the remaining chocolate chips.
- Pour the melted chocolate over a baking sheet covered with parchment paper or cling film.
- Top with pistachio, almond and cranberries, and sprinkle with sea salt.
- Allow to set for 1-2 hours, then break into pieces and serve.
Notes
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Andrea says
Hi Mary, the leaves are purely decorative and are not intended to be ingested. As to the berries, the ones you see in the images are cranberries, perfectly safe to eat 🙂
Mary Coyle says
The chocolate bark looks delicious, but the fotos showing the bark next to holly berries, which are poisonous, and holly leaves, which if ingested can cause some nasty symptoms, almost look as if it is okay to add holly berries in place of the cranberries.