Chocolate. Does anyone NOT like it? We’ve been on a kick lately to eat only really good chocolate and we TRY to eat it in moderation…which is honestly a lot easier with high quality chocolate than it is with say, “fun size” candy bars left over from Halloween (and who decided miniscule amounts of candy bar was “fun”?!) We may or may not have conducted a scientific study in our house to determine this to be accurate. Admittedly, the sample size was small (2 people, both watching our calories), but we stand by our research :-)

After we depleted our supply of chocolate bars we hauled home from the Ritter Sport Chocolate World shop in Germany (more about that HERE), we started buying rather pricey 4 oz gourmet chocolate bars at the grocery store and much less expensive, but rather thick, chunks of plain dark Belgian chocolate at Trader Joes. Notice that luxury chocolate bars are always thin - not just because the manufacturers are trying to look like you get more than you actually do, okay maybe that’s the reason - but also because with a thinner bar, you can fully enjoy the flavors in every bite. And suddenly, it occurred to us, well to Jenna really, that we could make our own chocolate bark with our favorite flavored mix-ins and it would be delicious AND inexpensive! This could not be easier…

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Chocolate Bark Recipe

Ingredients

Belgian dark chocolate (we use half of the pound plus bar, or 250 grams, from Trader Joes for a 13” x 18” baking sheet), or YOUR favorite type(s) of chocolate!

Whatever else you want to add! Our two favorites combos are crystallized ginger (40 g) with candied orange (we used 65 g of sweetened dried orange slices from Trader Joes), OR dried cranberries (60 g) with toasted slivered almonds (45 g). The amounts are to your taste, of course, but this is the ratio of stuff to chocolate we liked best!

Sea salt flakes (such as Maldon) which you already have on hand if you make this best brownie recipe EVER

Directions

Chop your chocolate into chunks and melt in a large pyrex measuring cup using 30-45 seconds at a time to avoid burning the chocolate - if you use white chocolate, this is especially important! (you can also do this in a double boiler if you are microwave averse).

Toast any nuts you are using - this always makes for better flavor and texture than untoasted. You can toast them in a dry frying pan on top of the stove, stirring constantly until lightly browned OR in a 350’ oven for approximately 10 minutes.

Using a minichop (or, I suppose, a knife, but I’m lazy!) chop your mix-ins, adding the larger items to the chopper first and the smaller ones after a few pulses. Chop in brief pulses - you don’t want your mix-ins too fine! NOTE: we weigh everything on this scale (best investment ever and available in fun colors!) so we can accurately calculate the calories/gram and then we can weigh out the portions and know exactly how much we are indulging!

Stir 1/2- 3/4 of your mix-ins into the melted chocolate. Spread the chocolate in a thin layer on a parchment lined baking sheet (the parchment makes it easier to break into chunks later and makes clean up a breeze!), sprinkle with remaining mix-ins and top with a sprinkle of salt flakes.

Put your sheet in the freezer for 20-30 minutes to set the bark.

Break your bark into chunks and store in an airtight container in the fridge.

Variations

I’ve also done a delicious bark with white and bittersweet chocolate marbled together (by spreading it on the parchment in stripes and dragging a knife back and forth through the stripes to marbleize it) with espesso powder added to the bittersweet chocolate, and toasted macadamias mixed in.

Chocolate and Champagne

In Honor of Valentine’s Day, or as we like to call it at our house, Singleness Awareness Day, we decided to throw an impromptu champagne and chocolate party for a few friends to celebrate life and laughter and the joy of friendship! We set out a buffet table of a few of our favorite chocolate indulgences including our homemade chocolate bark, chocolate dipped strawberries, and a decadent flourless chocolate cake, alongside some savory options of nuts and fruit, and some specialty cheeses. Our friend Susan contributed an addictive candied peppered bacon appetizer. We served red wine and Asti Spumante, along with hot tea and coffee since it was a bitter 2 degrees outside! The table was bedecked with a trough of pink hydrangeas, votive candles, and a collection of various china and silver pieces for an easy and elegant display.

What a fun and delicious evening!

Happy February!