Trail Mix Bark

This was easily my most requested Jesscipe from my last food shoot. It’s funny, the whole instastory thing felt so unnatural to me at first. It took me some time to embrace social media in general. I could not understand why anyone really cared what I was doing at 2:30 pm on a Tuesday, so it felt oddly self aggrandizing to talk about my daily activities. But that’s the biz, and though I don’t love hearing myself recorded (I think I sound like the love child of Barry White and Fran Drescher), I have come to really enjoy sharing through the stories. My favorite stories to film are the food because it’s fun to share ideas and tips. It feels organic to me since I’m actually really doing it anyway. It’s thrilling when I story a new concoction that seems to excite my followers, especially when it’s easy like this bark. If I can help you look like a rock star in the kitchen, no one needs to know that this took minimal effort. Your culinary secrets are safe with me. I promise you’ll knock their socks off with this one. I don’t love white chocolate, but I loved how holiday appropriate it would look here. White, snowy chocolate, woodsy granola, crunchy peanuts, and red dried cherries evoking that beautiful, wholesome holiday color palette. This is great to serve as a dessert after a special meal, or to keep in the freezer and have your overnight guests sneak a snack as they please. 2 AM? Sure, why not! This is also a lovely hostess gift if you’re not traveling far, since the chocolate will get melty after a little while.     

You’ll need:

A baking sheet pan with edges

Wax paper

Six bars of good quality white chocolate. I use Ghirardelli.

Two cups of granola

Half a cup of salted or honey roasted peanuts.

Half a cup of dried cherries or craisins.

3/4 cup of mini chocolate chips.

Directions:

Spray the baking sheet well with non stick spray. Press wax paper or parchment paper down firmly on top. Tape the edges if needed. Don’t spray the top of the paper. Set aside.

Melt the chocolate on top of a double boiler until smooth. Let cool slightly then pour on the baking sheet and spread around evenly with a sprayed spatula. Mix all components of topping together in a bowl and scatter evenly over the melted chocolate, pressing down gently.

Place sheet in the freezer for a couple hours. After it’s totally frozen break the bark into pieces of different sizes and put back in the freezer in an airtight container until ready to serve. I love the contrast of the white chocolate served on a dark platter. Play around with different chocolates and toppings. You can even serve a couple choices or an assortment. Have fun with this one!