Chocolate Bark is the easiest 5-ingredient snack you’ll ever whip up. All you need are 5 simple (and completely customizable!) ingredients – chocolate, pepitas, dried cherries, coconut flakes, and any type of nuts. This homemade treat makes the perfect gift!
Published: August 2021. Updated August 2023.
This is one of those recipes you want to have in your back-pocket at all times. And, once you’ve made it the first time, you’ll be able to whip this up any time without having to follow a recipe. It makes a great gift during the holiday season, too!
Why you’ll love this Homemade Chocolate Bark:
- Simple Recipe – Absolutely anyone can make this recipe! It requires nearly zero effort, and the ability to work a microwave.
- Giftable – Pack up little packages for gifting! This is a fabulous homemade gift to give out for the holidays, to teachers or to neighbors.
- Completely Customizable – Go *nuts* (get it, heh) with your favorite toppings! Add whatever toppings you like best – this is your party, after all, and the flavor combinations are endless!
Ingredient Overview:
As always, the full recipe with measurements & directions can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
- Chocolate – Like most chocolate bark recipes, I recommend that you use good quality chocolate bars, not chocolate chips. Chocolate chips have stabilizers in them to keep them intact while being baked. This means they won’t melt as nicely and the chocolate can seize up. You can find semi-sweet, dark, white, and milk chocolate bars at most grocery stores, near the chocolate chips.
- Pepitas – I used salted pepitas, but you can use pretzels or something else for a crunch!
- Nuts – Salted macadamia nuts are delicious here, but of course you can substitute for any other nut you like.
- Dried Cranberries – Use unsweetened or sweetened dried cranberries -whatever you prefer.
Ingredient Substitutions:
- Dairy-Free – Use your favorite dairy-free chocolate to make this recipe dairy-free and vegan.
- Gluten-Free – This recipe is naturally gluten-free!
- Chocolate – Feel free to use all milk chocolate for a milk chocolate bark, all dark chocolate for a dark chocolate bark, or all white chocolate for white chocolate bark. I like mixing different types of chocolate to create the beautiful swirled effect.
How to Make this Homemade Chocolate Bark Recipe Step-by-Step:
Step 1: Melt Chocolate. Finely chop your chocolate on a wooden cutting board. You can melt the chocolate in two different ways. Add the chocolate to a heat-proof bowl and place it over a pot with 2 inches of simmering water, making sure the bowl doesn’t sit in the water. Melt gently over medium heat, stirring with a rubber spatula until 80% melted. Remove from the heat and stir to let the residual heat melt the rest.
You can also melt the chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl, in 20 to 30 second intervals, stirring well between each. If using white chocolate, err on the lower side as it can seize up more easily.
Step 2: Spread the Chocolate. Pour your melted chocolate onto a foil-lined or parchment-lined baking sheet. Spread it out in a thin layer, then pour your second type of chocolate on top, and spread it to the edges of the first chocolate layer. Use a butter knife or toothpick to create swirls in your chocolate bark.
Step 3: Top the Chocolate. This is the fun part. Well, the other fun part – creating those swirls is pretty fun too, heh. I used dried cherries, coconut flakes, pepitas, and sea salt macadamia nuts. You have SO much flexibility here – you don’t have to use exactly what I used!
Serving + Storing this Recipe:
Once the chocolate sets, break it up into pieces of your desired size. Store in an airtight container at room temperature in the fridge to ensure no melty chocolate mishaps. This keeps for 2-3 weeks in the fridge.
Expert Success Tips:
- Chocolate – I definitely recommend using a high-quality chocolate here, like Ghirardelli melting wafers or Baker’s chocolate bars. Don’t use chocolate chips if you can help it – they have stabilizers in them so they don’t melt as well as something like melting wafers or a baking bar.
- Leftover Holiday Candy – If you want to go the less “healthy” route, you can turn this into a candy bark and use any leftover holiday candy you have laying around.
FAQs:
Yes, you can. Feel free to do either!
This chocolate bark – like my caramel sauce – makes a great gift! Put it in a cute little tin with a ribbon and gift it to teachers, neighbors, or anyone else who’s day you want to brighten up.
Recipe Variations:
- Nuts – Don’t care for nuts? Leave ’em out. Prefer pecans? Swap those for the macadamias!
- Dried Fruit – Prefer dried cranberries to cherries? Swap ’em.
- Others – In addition to dried fruit or nots, have fun with mix-ins like toffee bits, pretzel pieces, dried fruit, seeds, and/or sprinkles.
Special Tools:
- Cookie Sheet – You’ll need a large cookie sheet to spread the chocolate on.
- Offset Spatula – An offset spatula makes spreading the chocolate a breeze, and is useful for frosting cakes, spreading batters, and so much more!
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More Sweet Treats to Gift:
- Black Forest Chocolate Truffles
- 10-Minute Salted Caramel Sauce
- Easy Chex Mix
- White Chocolate Peppermint Puppy Chow
- Classic Puppy Chow
- Double Chocolate Swirled Peppermint Bark
Did you make this recipe? Snap a photo and leave a comment!
Be sure to follow bluebowlrecipes on instagram and tag #bluebowlrecipes with your photo! You can also post a photo of your recipe to the bluebowlrecipes Facebook page. I’d love to see what you make!
5-Ingredient Homemade Chocolate Bark
Ingredients
- 12 ounces milk, semi-sweet, or dark chocolate
- 12 ounces white chocolate
- 1/2 cup dried cherries, roughly chopped
- 1/2 cup sea salt macadamia nuts, roughly chopped
- 1/2 cup salted pepitas
- 1/2 cup coconut chips
Instructions
- Prep: Line a large cookie sheet with a piece of parchment paper.
- Melt Chocolate: For dark, milk, or semi-sweet chocolates, melt the chocolate in the microwave, in 30 second intervals, stirring between each, until almost melted. Stir until the residual heat melts the remaining chocolate. For white chocolate, only use intervals of 15 seconds at a time – white chocolate tends to seize up more easily. You can also do this in a double boiler, or in a heat-proof bowl over a saucepan with 2 inches of simmering water. Make sure the bowl doesn't touch the water, and remove from the heat when 75% melted. Use the residual heat to stir and melt the remaining chocolate.
- Make the Chocolate Bark: Pour the melted chocolate, starting with your darker chocolate, onto the prepared pan. Spread to desired thinness. Pour the white chocolate (if using) on top, and spread it so it's just within the edges of the darker chocolate. Use a butter knife or toothpick to create beautiful swirls! Then, sprinkle on your mix-ins – dried fruits, seeds, nuts, candy, etc. Remember – you can use any dried fruits, nuts, etc. that you like! No need to follow what I used exactly.
- Chill: Chill the chocolate bark in the fridge for about 30 minutes to an hour – or until the chocolate has set.
- Serve + Store: Once completely set, break the chocolate bark into pieces and dig in! Store in the fridge or at room temp in an airtight container. This will keep for a few weeks at room temp, and even longer in the fridge.
- Gift It: This is a great recipe to give as a homemade gift! Gift it in a cute tin for the holidays with a ribbon on top, or just pop it on a good old fashioned paper plate and drop it off for neighbors and friends to enjoy.
Nutrition
DD's blog says
Such amazing idea, look delicious and it’s easy to prepare.. Like it 🙂
Stephanie Simmons says
Thank you! It’s super easy ❤️??
Michelle - Hold the Moo says
So beautiful but so easy! Love this and you are right about it being great for a gift 🙂
Stephanie Simmons says
Thank you! ❤️