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Christmas Chocolate Bark Six Ways

This easy chocolate bark recipe makes the perfect Christmas bark when personalized with your favorite toppings. It’s a great addition to cookie trays!

I started making this easy chocolate bark recipe several years ago and it became an instant holiday season favorite for me. It’s so easy to make and it’s also super tasty – my kids love it!

6 Christmas Chocolate Bark Recipes | Homemade Christmas gifts, Christmas recipes and more from @cydconverse

This fall I was reminded how easy it is to make chocolate bark when I made a bunch of Halloween candy bark, which inspired me to create a whole bunch of Christmas chocolate bark recipes for you!

Our kids are crazy for chocolate bark and, since I’ve been keeping them in ample supply, so are all of our neighbors. (You’re welcome, guys!)

6 Christmas Chocolate Bark Recipes | Homemade Christmas gifts, Christmas recipes and more from @cydconverse

It’s fun because it’s really easy to make, especially with kids. Here I am showing you six ways to make chocolate bark to help inspire you to dream up the flavor combinations you’ll love best.

Chocolate bark makes a really sweet homemade gift, especially when it’s packaged in a cute little box with tissue paper, tied up with a bit of baker’s twine. Get creative!

6 Christmas Chocolate Bark Recipes | Homemade Christmas gifts, Christmas recipes and more from @cydconverse

To Make Chocolate Bark, You Will Need:

  • Chocolate – Several different kinds of chocolate works when making chocolate bark. I often use chocolate morsels choosing between milk chocolate morsels or dark chocolate morsels depending on the toppings I’m using.
  • Toppings – You can get creative with what toppings you use for your chocolate bark! I like using a mix of nuts, dried fruit, candy, marshmallows and butterscotch chips.
  • Double boiler – I use a double boiler when melting the chocolate for my bark. You can create a double boiler by placing a heat-safe boil (such as a glass mixing bowl) over a pan with a couple inches of water in the bottom. As you heat the water in the pot it will create steam that will warm the underside of the bowl and melt whatever is inside.
  • Cookie sheet – You’ll need cookies sheets or sheet pans to pour your melted chocolate onto.
  • Parchment paper – Line your cookie sheet with parchment paper to when making your Christmas bark to make it easy to work with once it has hardened.

6 Christmas Chocolate Bark Recipes | Homemade Christmas gifts, Christmas recipes and more from @cydconverse

Below you’ll find my basic easy chocolate bark recipe. Use it as the basis for all of your chocolate bark creations!

Below you’ll also find my notes on what I used to create all six chocolate bark recipes you see here. Once you have the basic bark recipe down, you can riff on it with whatever ingredient combinations speak to you.

Fair warning though! This stuff is addicting.

6 Christmas Chocolate Bark Recipes | Homemade Christmas gifts, Christmas recipes and more from @cydconverse

How to Make Chocolate Bark

  1. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. (Do not use wax paper or foil, in this instance it needs to be strictly parchment paper.)
  2. Melt chocolate over a double boiler, stirring frequently until glossy and smooth.
  3. Carefully pour melted chocolate out onto the cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.
  4. Use a rubber spatula to smooth chocolate out into a nice even layer, until approximately 1/4″ in thickness.
  5. Have fun sprinkling your topping selection(s) over top evenly across the chocolate.
  6. Let it cool for 2 to 4 hours at room temperature, or place carefully in the refrigerator and place flat on a shelf and allow it to cool for 1 hour.
  7. Once hardened, use your hands to break the bark into several pieces. Alternately, use a knife to cut it into semi-regular rectangular shapes.
  8. Serve immediately or cover and store at room temperature or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

How to Make Chocolate Bark

How to Make Chocolate Bark in a Microwave

I prefer to make my Christmas bark over a double boiler, because I feel like it gives me more control than a microwave. (Also, we don’t own a microwave – small technicality!)

That said, it’s really easy to make bark in a microwave and a good option if you prefer to do it that way. You’ll first need to place your chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl.

Heat the chocolate in the microwave in 30 second increments, stirring in between. When the chocolate is mostly melted, carefully remove from the microwave and stir until smooth and fully melted.

Do not overheat the chocolate in the microwave or it may burn. You may also need to use pot holders when handling the bowl.

6 Christmas Chocolate Bark Recipes | Homemade Christmas gifts, Christmas recipes and more from @cydconverse

6 Christmas Chocolate Bark Recipes | Homemade Christmas gifts, Christmas recipes and more from @cydconverse

Chocolate Bark Variations

Keep scrolling and you’ll find six of my favorite ways to make chocolate bark. Feel free to adapt these to suit your own palate or to complement your favorite holiday flavor combinations.

S’mores Chocolate Bark

  • 20 oz (or roughly 4 cups) milk chocolate morsels
  • 1 cup mini marshmallows
  • 1 cup graham crackers, broken into small pieces

6 Christmas Chocolate Bark Recipes | Homemade Christmas gifts, Christmas recipes and more from @cydconverse

6 Christmas Chocolate Bark Recipes | Homemade Christmas gifts, Christmas recipes and more from @cydconverse

6 Christmas Chocolate Bark Recipes | Homemade Christmas gifts, Christmas recipes and more from @cydconverse

Dark Chocolate Peppermint Bark

  • 20 oz (or roughly 4 cups) dark chocolate morsels
  • 2 cups crushed/broken candy canes or peppermint candies

6 Christmas Chocolate Bark Recipes | Homemade Christmas gifts, Christmas recipes and more from @cydconverse

6 Christmas Chocolate Bark Recipes | Homemade Christmas gifts, Christmas recipes and more from @cydconverse

Fruitcake Chocolate Bark

  • 20 oz (or roughly 4 cups) milk chocolate morsels
  • ½ cup chopped walnuts
  • ½ cup dried cherries
  • ½ cup golden raisins

6 Christmas Chocolate Bark Recipes | Homemade Christmas gifts, Christmas recipes and more from @cydconverse

6 Christmas Chocolate Bark Recipes | Homemade Christmas gifts, Christmas recipes and more from @cydconverse

6 Christmas Chocolate Bark Recipes | Homemade Christmas gifts, Christmas recipes and more from @cydconverse

Almond Coconut Chocolate Bark

  • 20 oz (or roughly 4 cups) milk chocolate morsels
  • 1 cup sliced almonds
  • 1 cup shredded coconut

6 Christmas Chocolate Bark Recipes | Homemade Christmas gifts, Christmas recipes and more from @cydconverse

6 Christmas Chocolate Bark Recipes | Homemade Christmas gifts, Christmas recipes and more from @cydconverse

Pistachio Cranberry Bark

  • 20 oz (or roughly 4 cups) dark chocolate morsels
  • 1 cup halved pistachios
  • 1 cup dried cranberries

6 Christmas Chocolate Bark Recipes | Homemade Christmas gifts, Christmas recipes and more from @cydconverse

6 Christmas Chocolate Bark Recipes | Homemade Christmas gifts, Christmas recipes and more from @cydconverse

6 Christmas Chocolate Bark Recipes | Homemade Christmas gifts, Christmas recipes and more from @cydconverse

Peanut Butterscotch Bark

  • 20 oz (or roughly 4 cups) milk chocolate morsels
  • 1 cup lightly salted peanuts
  • 1 cup butterscotch chips

6 Christmas Chocolate Bark Recipes | Homemade Christmas gifts, Christmas recipes and more from @cydconverse

6 Christmas Chocolate Bark Recipes | Homemade Christmas gifts, Christmas recipes and more from @cydconverse

How to Package Christmas Bark for Gifts

To package up my chocolate bark to give as gifts, I used super cute bakery boxes from Shop Sweet Lulu and some pretty tissue paper I had on hand.

The tags are part of the printable gift tag bundle that Erika Firm designed exclusively for The Sweetest Occasion readers, which you can download here!

Then just add a bit of baker’s twine and you have a really thoughtful gift that your friends and family will love!

6 Christmas Chocolate Bark Recipes | Homemade Christmas gifts, Christmas recipes and more from @cydconverse

 

6 Christmas Chocolate Bark Recipes | Homemade Christmas gifts, Christmas recipes and more from @cydconverse

6 Christmas Chocolate Bark Recipes | Homemade Christmas gifts, Christmas recipes and more from @cydconverse

6 Christmas Chocolate Bark Recipes | Homemade Christmas gifts, Christmas recipes and more from @cydconverse

How to Make Chocolate Bark

6 Christmas Chocolate Bark Recipes | Homemade Christmas gifts, Christmas recipes and more from @cydconverse

Easy Chocolate Bark Recipe

Yield: 12 pieces of bark
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 15 minutes

This easy chocolate bark recipe makes the perfect Christmas bark when personalized with your favorite toppings. It's a great addition to cookie trays or bundled up as a stocking stuffer!

Ingredients

  • 20 oz (or roughly 4 cups) of chocolate morsels or chopped chocolate
  • 2 cups (approximate) various toppings (nuts, candy, dried fruit, marshmallows, etc.)

Instructions

  1. Begin by lining a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  2. Then, carefully melt chocolate over a double boiler, mixing often with a rubber spatula until fully melted and smooth.
  3. Alternately, you can microwave in a heat seat bowl, microwaving in 15 – 20 second intervals and stirring in between to ensure even heating.
  4. Once fully melted, carefully pour melted chocolate onto the center of your baking sheet, then use a rubber spatula to gently smooth out until approximately 1/4” thick.
  5. Recruit the kids to help you sprinkle your toppings such as nuts or pretzels across the surface of the melted chocolate.
  6. Transfer the baking sheet to the fridge and chill for at least one hour or, ideally, overnight.
  7. Remove from the fridge and use the back of a spoon or similar to smash the bark into pieces.
  8. Alternately you could use a knife to cut into rectangles.

[Printables by Erika Firm | Photos by Alice G. Patterson.]

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Chocolate Bark ~ 15 Ways! | The View from Great Island

Monday 22nd of July 2019

[…] Christmas Chocolate Bark Six Ways […]

Gwen

Wednesday 7th of December 2016

These are almost too pretty to eat! Almost... Can't wait to try them!

Cyd Converse

Thursday 8th of December 2016

They are so fun to make, Gwen! And people go crazy over the different flavors. I hope you enjoy them! xo

Marlene @ Idle Hands Awake

Tuesday 6th of December 2016

You've made me drool on my computer. They look incredible!

Cyd Converse

Tuesday 6th of December 2016

Thanks, Marlene! This stuff is seriously addictive! lol

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