Even for a person who doesn't often eat sugar, my Decembers are generally filled with all varieties of confection. I gulp mug after mug of hot cocoa (usually stirred with a candy cane), indulge in lots of things chocolate-dipped, and consume desserts on a nightly basis rather than once a week.
All too often, the holiday season becomes an excuse for me to indulge in every powdered-sugar-covered delight that lands on my doorstep. I think this is why I've slowed down with the posts about holiday desserts: I didn't think through the part where I'd be sampling everything I made for the blog, plus partaking of the generous goodies brought to us by friends.
So for our Christmas deliveries this year, I decided to make something festive yet within my usual sugar bounds. I settled on creating a few new renditions of an old favorite: chocolate bark. And the results were just what I had hoped for. Made with dark, dark chocolate, this bark is sprinkled with dried fruit and nuts instead of caramel drizzles and marshmallows (though a few candy canes found their way into the mix). A few pieces of this treat are enough to satisfy a chocolate craving, and the richness (ideally) helps you limit yourself to just a few pieces. And the best part is, the flavor combinations are to die for!
Rendition 1: Fresh Orange Zest and Dried Cranberries
Before every daddy-daughter snowboarding trip, my dad and I would pack a big Ziploc filled with Craisins and pieces of chocolate orange. Whether it's because all food tastes best when you're riding up a chairlift with chilly wind on your face or because these flavors effortlessly complement each other, the chocolate-orange-cranberry mix has been a favorite of mine ever since those first days on the slopes with my dad. This bark was inspired by those memories. I think of it as a sophisticated twist on a childhood favorite.
To make: Sprinkle the zest of one orange and about one cup of dried cranberries over prepared chocolate.
Rendition 2: Hazelnut and Dried Apricot with Sea Salt
As a sophomore in college, I spent four months living in Vienna, Austria. Oh, that I could return to those streets today and truly capture the tastes of that German-speaking city! I have begun lists after list in an attempt to remember the things I ate in Austria, for they were different and divine. One treat I remember particularly well is the Milka chocolate bar. To this day, those candy bars hold the key to the best milk chocolate I've ever tasted. The Trauben-Nuss (fruit and nut) flavor was love at first taste with its raisins and hazelnuts. That is what I attempted to recreate with this bark. With a few adjustments, of course.
To make: Cut each dried apricot into sixths (I used about ten apricots). Sprinkle over prepared chocolate along with 3/4 cup hazelnuts and a generous amount of sea salt.
Rendition 3: Candy Cane
Every year before Christmas, my dad takes my sister and me (and now Chad) to the Williams-Sonoma at Bellevue Square to shop for my mother. We take great pride in picking out the perfect-colored kitchen towels, best-scented hand soap, and coolest kitchen gadgets. One thing I remember picking up a few years in a row is their famous peppermint bark. It came in a fancy red and white tin and truly tastes like Christmas to me. I couldn't resist recreating it this year.
To make: Place three candy canes in a small Ziploc bag. Use the back of a butcher knife to crush the candy to a size you like. Sprinkle crushed candy over prepared chocolate.
Basic Dark Chocolate Bark
with help from Martha Stewart
1 pound dark chocolate
toppings
Coat a cookie sheet with cooking spray and line with parchment, leaving an overhang of parchment on the ends of the sheet.
Stirring often, melt chocolate in a double boiler or a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Make sure all chocolate chunks have melted and that the chocolate is smooth. Pour chocolate into prepared cookie sheet and spread into an even layer.
Immediately sprinkle toppings evenly over chocolate. Remember you'll be breaking the bark into pieces, so make sure each topping is well-represented. Refrigerate until chocolate is firm, about one hour (I placed my cookie sheets by an open window).
Peel off parchment, and break bark into pieces.
Keep pieces sealed in Ziploc bags and in the refrigerator until ready to serve or distribute. Bark can be stored in the fridge for up to three days.
NOTE: One pound of chocolate makes one cookie sheet of bark. I made the recipe twice for this picture.
