Every Christmas I make bark. It’s so easy and so delicious. I give tins to friends as little presents. What I like about bark candy is that you don’t need any special candy making tools. It only takes about 30 minutes to make. I make a double batch, but you can half this recipe for a single sheet pan of bark.
Tools: baking sheet pans, double boilers, parchment paper
Makes 2 sheet pans of bark.
You’ll Need:
- 2 pounds of pecan halves (or whole almonds). I’ve used almonds, cashews and walnuts, but pecans just seem to go taste the best to me. They are sweet and softer to chew. Peanuts can work, too. You could also use a mix of 2 nuts.
- 4 pounds of candy making chocolate. I like to buy the Ghirardelli Dark Chocolate Candy Making and Dipping Wafers. I buy it at Sam’s Club in a 2 lb. bag. I have seen it in some groceries around December, but it only comes in an 8 oz. bag. Just don’t mistake it for Baking Chips - they are not the same. While dark in color it is less bitter than regular dark chocolate and tastes more like a cross between milk chocolate and dark chocolate. You can buy candy making wafers at stores that specialize in cake and candy making. Chocolate specifically used for candy making is tempered so it remains shiny, has a good snap and melts smoothly in your mouth. That’s why you use candy making chocolate which has been tempered.
- 6 ounces of white chocolate chips or a box of Baker’s Premium white chocolate.
Double Boiler: A double-boiler is an actual 3 piece pot you can purchase - a pot set in a pot with a lid, but you can create your own with a saucepan and a bowl. For candy-making you will want the bowl to be larger than the saucepan. The bottom of the bowl should sit down into the saucepan an inch or 2, not just sit on the rim of the saucepan.
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| An example of a bad double boiler. The top insert is smaller than the bottom saucepan. This could allow steam to get into the chocolate causing it to seize and become unusable. |
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| A good double boiler - the insert sits down into the saucepan and is larger than the saucepan. |
DIRECTIONS
Set up 2 double-boilers - a large one for the dark chocolate and a small one for the white chocolate. (See microwave instructions below if you prefer that method for melting chocolate.) Put 1 inch of water in a saucepan. Place a glass or metal bowl larger than the saucepan over the saucepan. The water should not touch the bottom of the top bowl. Bring the water to a simmer then turn it to low. You do not want it boiling. Just keep it just below a simmer. You want to melt the chocolate very slowly or it will burn. Be careful not to get any water into the melting chocolate or it will seize up and become useless. If steam is rising up around the bowl it might condensate and get in the chocolate. Steam means your water is too hot. Microwave: You can melt the wafers in a microwave, but that requires careful attention and patience. It’s easy to burn the chocolate in a microwave if you are not extremely careful. Follow the directions on the package carefully.
Place about 1/2 cup of the dark chocolate wafers in a double boiler. Stir with a spatula every so often. When it has almost melted add more chocolate and stir every so often. Keep adding chocolate until it is all melted and smooth. Remove the bowl from the sauce pan and wipe the bowl dry to avoid getting water in it. Add in the pecans and mix to coat. While you are melting the dark chocolate put your white chocolate chips (or chopped up Baker’s white chocolate bar) in the other double boiler and melt slowly, stirring often until smooth.
Spread the pecan/chocolate mixture out onto parchment lined baking sheets with a spatula. Make an even layer pressing it down and spreading it to the edges of the parchment paper.
You will now make a home-made pastry/icing bag… Take a small plastic zip-lock type bag and place it in a short glass and pull back the sides of the bag down around the side of the glass. Pour in your melted white chocolate.
Zip up the bag, squeezing out as much air as possible before you seal it. Now cut a very small piece off of one bottom corner of the baggie. Now squeezing the bag distribute the white chocolate over the bark in a back and forth pattern creating long, thin lines across the bark about 1/2 inch apart. You don’t have to use all of the white chocolate - just enough to give it that bark look. I like to finely chop some extra pecans and just sprinkle them across the top. It makes it look a little more rough and “barky.”
Let cool in a cool place until it has hardened. Don’t refrigerate or the chocolate will lose its shine. Use a sharp heavy knife or pizza cutter to brake it up into chunks. You can break it up by hand but it gets messy and the warmth of your hands will start to melt the chocolate. Store in an airtight container.
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