What better way to pass three hours in the library between finals than by posting another recipe? I’ve already picked out 4 pictures to show my hairdresser at my hair appointment this evening, scrolled through Pinterest, and checked the weather for Charleston this weekend, so why not keep the productivity flowing? I’ll throw some studying in the mix later, but I already feel pretty well prepared for my final.
In keeping with the sweet theme I’ve got going on this week, this is a recipe that I came up with last year and decided to bring back again! For some reason I love chocolate bark during the holidays, something about it is just so fitting. I think it’s something about packing and wrapping it up in festive bags.
Last year I made a great combination for a “Sips & Dip” party with a few friends from home, and it was gone by the end of the evening! With a bark “base” of dark chocolate, I topped it off with pomegranate arils and pistachios. Festively and appropriately colored, I’d rate it about a 6.8 on the festive scale. This year I still wanted to stick with dark chocolate as a base and I already had a bag of pistachios in my pantry, but needed another topping to round it out. While walking through the grocery store I stumbled across a section of candy canes and I immediately thought about adding crushed candy canes. The addition of candy canes definitely bumped this version up to a solid 9 on the festive scale.
This recipe is just as easy as the rice krispies and is essentially a “no bake” product. If you are crunched on time or don’t want to spend 20 minutes deshelling pistachios like I did, BUY THE BAG OF DESHELLED PISTACHIOS. They are a little bit more expensive, but in hindsight I think its worth it. However if you want to save that extra cash, throw on some Christmas music on Spotify, grab a seat and the process might not be so painful.
If you don’t like pistachios or candy canes, feel free to sub in whatever toppings you like!! Other types of nuts, coconut shavings, dried cranberries, mandarin orange sections, or even ginger are all great options.
Candy Cane & Pistachio Dark Chocolate Bark
servings: varied, I got ~14 medium-sized pieces
Ingredients:
1 bag dark chocolate morsels (I used Nestle)
1 cup pistachios, deshelled
4 candy canes
1) Line a baking pan or cookie sheet with aluminum foil, set aside.
2) Deshell pistachios if needed. Place deshelled pistachios in a ziploc bag, close shut, and crush using a rolling pin (or whatever you can find…I used the bottom of a metal measuring cup. #innovative).
3) Place 4 candy canes into a ziploc bag, close shut, and crush using a rolling pin or other crushing device.
4) Using a double boiler (or a saucepan topped with a pyrex bowl), fill bottom bowl with 1-2″ of water over high heat. Empty bag of dark chocolate morsels into top pot or bowl. Let water come to a boil and allow dark chocolate to melt into a creamy consistency, stirring occasionally.
5) Being careful that pot or bowl is not hot to touch, use a spatula to spoon melting chocolate onto the baking pan lined with aluminum foil. Evenly spread chocolate mixture into a thin layer, or your desired thickness of bark.
6) Immediately top still-warm chocolate with the crushed pistachios and candy cane pieces, pressing down lightly.
7) Place in freezer and allow to chill for at least 30-45 minutes before serving. Enjoy!
In total, this took me about 45 minutes to prepare, not including time in the freezer. You could cut that time in half by buying deshelled pistachios, as that’s what took up the bulk of my time. I also kept mine in the freezer even after it was done setting, as the coldness brought out the minty-ness of the candy canes even more. It almost reminded me of cool and refreshing mouthwash! This didn’t make as much as I was expecting, so I only had one tiny piece. Tis the season of giving I suppose.
xo,
clara