Chocolate Christmas Tree Bark
Chocolate Bark is a quick and oven-free dessert that has endless possibilities. As long as you have the core ingredient of chocolate, you can experiment with dozens of different toppings, candies, and edible decor to truly make this dessert as unique as you are! This particular recipe is a “Christmas tree” version, made to look like red and green decorations on winter snow—and my son claims the pretzels and pecans make it look like actual tree bark (I can’t disagree). Two of my children and I had fun getting the toppings on as fast as we could before the chocolate hardened.
This “Chocolate Christmas Tree Bark” recipe is easy and fun and bound to get you and your family into the Christmas spirit.
Materials:
- Parchment paper (tin foil will also work)
- Baking sheet
- Microwave-safe bowl
- Rubber spatula
Ingredients:
- 8-12 oz. (about 1 to 1 1/2 cups) semi-sweet chocolate chips (you can also use milk chocolate or dark chocolate)
- Mini pretzel twists
- 8-12 oz. white chocolate chips
- Toppings: red and green M&Ms, chopped nuts (we used pecans)
- Red and green food coloring (or red and green sprinkles)
Other topping ideas:
- Crushed candy canes or peppermint candy
- Crushed graham crackers
- Other salted nuts: peanuts, almonds, cashews, walnuts, etc.
- Cereal
- Mini marshmallows
- Chopped chocolate candy
- Dried fruit, such as cranberries
Steps:
1. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Put your semi-sweet chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave for 15 seconds at a time, stirring after each time with the spatula, until the chocolate is completely melted—chocolate burns easily, so don’t overcook!
3. Once melted, pour the chocolate onto the parchment paper and spread it into a thin layer with the spatula.
4. Press pretzels into the chocolate.
5. Put the baking sheet (with the chocolate and pretzels, of course) into the fridge, and let it chill for about 10-15 minutes.
6. In the meantime, wash out your microwave-safe bowl, and fill it with the white chocolate chips. Make sure all your toppings are ready to go—the white chocolate will cool quickly!
7. Microwave the white chocolate chips the same way you did with the semi-sweet chocolate—stirring every 15 seconds until they are completely melted.
8. Once melted, pour the white chocolate over your pretzel-chocolate layer, and spread evenly with the spatula.
9. Quickly add your toppings! One neat trick is to put small drops of food coloring and gently move the color around with the tip of a fork. Make sure to push down on the chunky toppings (such as the M&Ms).
10. Once you’re finished decorating with your toppings, put the baking sheet back into the fridge to chill for at least 20 minutes.
11. Take the baking sheet out of the fridge, and break your bark into big chunks.
12. Enjoy your delicious Christmassy dessert! Then make some more to give as Christmas gifts to your family and friends.
Note: You can store your bark in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for up to a week.
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Photos by Veronica McDonald. All rights reserved.
