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Get ready for the holiday season with my Holiday Chocolate Bark Recipes! Chocolate bark recipes make fun food gifts for the holidays, and are so easy to make. They're fun to decorate - the kids can help! - and super delicious, too. Make your own chocolate bark in 15 minutes or less!
Christmas Bark and Halloween Bark and more
Coming up with fun new foods to give as gifts over the holidays is a treat I look forward to every year! Homemade chocolate bark is one of my favorites to give friends and family. Everyone loves it - and it's so easy to make, too!
You can decorate chocolate bark recipes however you like, for any holiday from Christmas to St. Patrick's Day and any occasion you can think of.
I'll show you how to make chocolate bark perfect for Halloween and Christmas, and give you tips on decorating your own!
From white chocolate bark and dark chocolate bark to chocolate peppermint bark, there are so many ways to make these chocolate bark recipes your own. Have fun and get the kids involved!
FAQs
Chocolate bark is a sheet of chocolate not too dissimilar to a brittle recipe, put together with layers of candies and other ingredients of your choice, such as pretzels or nuts.
Chocolate bark does not need to be refrigerated and lasts better outside of the refrigerator, kept at a cool room temperature in an air-tight container. It will last about 4-5 days at room temperature if stored correctly.
If stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator, chocolate bark will last about 2 to 3 weeks.
Chocolate bark can be frozen. Allow to cool and harden completely, then break apart and add to freezer-safe bags sealed tightly. Store for up to 2 months in the freezer, labeled with the freezing date.
The easiest way to melt chocolate is to microwave it. Microwave in 30 second intervals, stirring in between each interval, until melted and smooth. Do not microwave for more than 30 seconds at a time, or the chocolate may seize up and be ruined. Microwave chocolate at 50% power for the safest results.
Halloween Chocolate Bark Instructions
Halloween candy bark is a white chocolate bark using semi-sweet baking chocolate made with cocoa butter, salted pretzels, white baking chocolate made with cocoa butter, candy eyes, round chocolate candies such as M&Ms, and candy corn.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Melt milk chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl in 30 second intervals at 50% power, stirring between each interval.
- Once melted, pour the chocolate onto the parchment paper and evenly spread gently. Top with pretzels to cover the sheet. Push each pretzel down slightly. Finally, refrigerate 10 minutes until the chocolate sets.
- Once the chocolate sets, microwave white chocolate until melted. White chocolate is more sensitive and melts more quickly than other chocolates, so make extra sure not to microwave at more than 50% power and only in 30 second intervals.
- Pour the white chocolate over the pretzel chocolate bark sheet and spread evenly. Try not to mix the two chocolates. Decorate with candy eyes, round chocolate candies, candy corn - as much as you want! Refrigerate until the chocolate hardens, about 10 minutes. Cut into pieces or break it apart, and enjoy!
Christmas Chocolate Bark Instructions
Christmas candy bark is a chocolate caramel bark using chopped milk chocolate, chopped caramel baking chips, pretzels, candy eyes, red ball sprinkles, and any other holiday sprinkles you like.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Melt milk chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl in 30 second intervals, stirring in between intervals, until smooth. Do the same for the caramel baking chips in a separate bowl.
- Spread the chocolate on the baking sheet. The chocolate should be about ⅛-inch thick. Pour the caramel over the chocolate in three straight lines. Drag a toothpick gently through the lines to make swirls of caramel in the chocolate.
- Break 8 pretzels of any size in half, and place them slightly apart in pairs of two to make antlers. Under each set of antlers, place two candy eyes and 1 red ball sprinkle as a nose. You will need 16 candy eyes and 8 red ball sprinkles.
- Add any other holiday sprinkles you like, then place in the refrigerator for 1 hour to harden.
- Remove from the fridge, break apart into pieces or chop up, and enjoy!
Tips for Making Chocolate Bark
- For the Halloween candy bark, it’s important to buy both the semi-sweet and white chocolate made with cocoa butter to ensure the layers stay together. I use Ghirardelli Premium Baking Bars for both. I avoid chocolate chips for my Halloween chocolate bark recipe, especially white chocolate chips, as they are typically made with palm kernel oil or coconut oil instead of cocoa butter - this is because I want the layers to be separate!
- You can melt the chocolates using a double broiler or in the microwave. Using the microwave works well, takes less time, and makes less of a mess, so that is the route I go. If you use the microwave, be sure to follow my instructions so you don’t cause the chocolate to seize up.
- I do not recommend using leftover Halloween chocolates for chocolate bark recipes.
Making Chocolate Bark Recipes for Other Holidays
To decorate for other holidays or for a birthday party, use holiday-appropriate sprinkles! You can also use colorful candy melts to make colorful chocolate bark, like green for St. Patrick's Day or pink for Mother's Day or Valentine's Day.
For birthday chocolate bark recipes, I like to use red, yellow, blue, and green sprinkles, and decorate with balloon sprinkles. If you're doing a themed birthday party, you can use sprinkles that match the theme!
Variations
There are so many ways to make your chocolate bark recipes fun and interesting. Try adding:
- Your favorite nuts, such as almonds, peanuts, or pecans
- The candies you love the most - you could even chop up your favorite candy bar!
- Dried berries would make a fun addition - try dried cherries!
Did you try my chocolate bark recipes? Let me know in the comments below, and be sure to leave a rating! I love to hear from you.
Holiday Food Gift Ideas
- White Chocolate Christmas Crack
- Starbucks Pumpkin Bread Recipe
- Chocolate Peanut Butter Pretzels Snack Mix
- No Bake Pumpkin Cookies
Best Chocolate Bark Recipes
Equipment
- 2 microwave-safe bowls
- Fork or spoon
Ingredients
Halloween Chocolate Bark
- 8 ounces Semi-Sweet Baking Chocolate - made with cocoa butter
- 50 Salted pretzels - about 50 pretzels, but that will vary depending on the size of your bark
- 8 ounces White Baking Chocolate - made with cocoa butter
- Candy eyes - I found these in my local grocery store near the Halloween candy
- Round chocolate candies - I used M&M's
- Candy Corn
Christmas Chocolate Bark
- 12 ounces milk chocolate - chopped
- 6 ounces caramel baking chips - chopped
- 8 pretzels of any size
- 16 edible candy eyes
- 8 red ball sprinkles
Instructions
Halloween chocolate bark
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Melt milk chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl in 30 second intervals at 50% power, stirring between each interval.
- Once melted, pour the chocolate onto the parchment paper and evenly spread gently. Top with pretzels to cover the sheet. Push each pretzel down slightly. Finally, refrigerate 10 minutes until the chocolate sets.
- Once the chocolate sets, microwave white chocolate until melted. White chocolate is more sensitive and melts more quickly than other chocolates, so make extra sure not to microwave at more than 50% power and only in 30 second intervals.
- Pour the white chocolate over the pretzel chocolate bark sheet and spread evenly. Try not to mix the two chocolates. Decorate with candy eyes, round chocolate candies, candy corn - as much as you want! Refrigerate until the chocolate hardens, about 10 minutes. Cut into pieces or break it apart, and enjoy!
Christmas chocolate bark
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Melt milk chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl in 30 second intervals, stirring in between intervals, until smooth. Do the same for the caramel baking chips in a separate bowl.
- Spread the chocolate on the baking sheet. The chocolate should be about ⅛-inch thick. Pour the caramel over the chocolate in three straight lines. Drag a toothpick gently through the lines to make swirls of caramel in the chocolate.
- Break 8 pretzels of any size in half, and place them slightly apart in pairs of two to make antlers. Under each set of antlers, place two candy eyes and 1 red ball sprinkle as a nose. You will need 16 candy eyes and 8 red ball sprinkles.
- Add any other holiday sprinkles you like, then place in the refrigerator for 1 hour to harden. Remove from the fridge, break apart into pieces or chop up, and enjoy!
Notes
- For the Halloween candy bark, it’s important to buy both the semi-sweet and white chocolate made with cocoa butter to ensure the layers stay together. I use Ghirardelli Premium Baking Bars for both. I avoid chocolate chips for my Halloween chocolate bark recipe, especially white chocolate chips, as they are typically made with palm kernel oil or coconut oil instead of cocoa butter - this is because I want the layers to be separate!
- You can melt the chocolates using a double broiler or in the microwave. Using the microwave works well, takes less time, and makes less of a mess, so that is the route I go. If you use the microwave, be sure to follow my instructions so you don’t cause the chocolate to seize up.
- I do not recommend using leftover Halloween chocolates for chocolate bark recipes.
- The nutritional value shown is only for the Halloween chocolate bark. Christmas bark divides into 8 pieces and is 163 calories or so a piece.
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