Over the last few years, I've been lucky enough to have some pretty awesome stuff dropped off on my doorstep.
Until now, though, no one has dropped off a 10 lb box of chocolate on my doorstep. Best. Delivery. EVER.
That box came courtesy of the lovely folks at Chipits, who were kind enough to supply me with their entire lineup, ranging from classic semi-sweet and milk chocolate chips to fancy-shmancy options like Skor bits and mini Reese's pieces.
(I'm not kidding about the 10 lbs part, by the way... there were literally twenty (!) bags of chocolate chips crammed into that box, along with a tin of cocoa powder.)
The package was part of my reward for taking part in the #ChipitsHoliday promotion, which asked a few members of Food Bloggers of Canada to come up with a fun holiday treat featuring Chipits products.
Seeing as I probably go through 10 lbs of chocolate chips for my holiday baking each year as it is, I think they came to the right place. :)
I toyed around with a few ideas, but with holiday party season in full swing, I figured my best bet would be a quick and easy treat that's perfect for keeping around in case of unexpected guests or packaged up into a last-minute hostess gift. I mean, a bottle of wine is nice and all, but nothing wins over frazzled hosts like a chocolatey treat they can devour in secret after everyone's gone home and the party cleanup is all done. (At least, this one does.)
As far as quick and easy treats go, chocolate bark is so ridiculously basic that I'm almost embarrassed to call it a recipe. Let's be real... if you can melt chocolate, you can make bark. It's really that simple.
I think this variation on the theme is particularly awesome, though. It starts off with dark chocolate chips, and then tops them off with some of my favourite sweet and salty flavours - crunchy roasted tamari almonds, crisp salt-studded pretzel sticks, buttery sweet Skor bits, and a sprinkling of kosher salt for good measure.
Granted, it's not a particularly festive combination, but that's okay. That means you won't feel so guilty if you whip up a batch in the middle of January, just for the heck of it. (And trust me. You totally will.)
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Disclosure: I received compensation (and an enormous box of chocolate!) from Chipits Canada in exchange for my participation in the #ChipitsHoliday campaign. All opinions, as always, are entirely my own.
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- 2 cups Chipits dark chocolate chips
- 1 cup pretzels, broken into pieces
- ½ cup roughly chopped tamari almonds
- ½ cup Chipits Skor toffee bits
- Coarse sea salt, for sprinkling
- Line a large baking sheet with parchment, leaving an inch or two of overhang on either side.
- Using a double boiler or microwave, melt the chocolate chips until smooth. Add half of the pretzel bits and half of the chopped almonds, and stir to combine.
- Pour the melted chocolate into the prepared baking sheet, smoothing out into an even layer about ½" thick. Scatter the remaining pretzel bits and almonds onto the melted chocolate, then sprinkle with the Skor bits and salt.
- Transfer the bark to the refrigerator and chill until firm, about 1 hour, before breaking up into pieces. Pack the bark into pretty gift bags or an airtight container. In theory, the bark will keep for about 2 weeks, but in reality it’ll probably disappear in a single sitting.
Ann says
Wow! Mentalness. And I especially love it because there's a nut allergy in my fam, so I could omit the almonds but still come away with something interesting with the Skor and pretzel. Might have to scarf some now
Ann says
PS I tried to rate the recipe with 5 stars but it wouldn't let me!
Kayle (The Cooking Actress) says
omigosh every single thing you mention sounds phenomenal-this bark is the best thing I've seen all day!!