Festive Candy Bark

Hi, I’m Dee and sometimes I hoard holiday candy.

Sometimes?  Big D begs to differ.

Admittedly, there are certain candies that never wear out their welcome in my drawers.  (Haha)

A sweet tooth wants what a sweet tooth wants, man!

M&Ms.  Mini candy bars, like Twix and Snickers.  Cadbury Mini Eggs.

Cadbury mini eggs…those are my kryptonite!  I could probably sit and eat a whole bag if guilt didn’t set in and ruin my moment.

M&Ms were the winner here!  They lasted the longest in my snack drawer, which was probably a week, maybe two.  Coconut M&Ms to be exact.  I couldn’t just leave them in the bag like that, hiding in a dark drawer, all lonely.

I decided it was time to break open the bag.  I wanted to make bark, like in this photo:

Looks so good, right?

I had all of the ingredients too, this time.  But as life has it, this awesomeness needed to be made as if zombies were knocking down my doors and attempting to get into the kitchen.  Basically,
I wasn’t afforded the time to follow the recipe exactly.

Kids…

I made these to look Spring-y.  I did have those leftover M&Ms after all.  I also used pretzel balls that I bought at Walmart.  They were perfect! 

I thought that the caramel part would be the most difficult so I skipped it.  Oh and I wish I hadn’t because it would have made it 10,000,001 times better.  (I know, because I made a second batch)

It was good as I made it too, just saying.  Caramelly caramel-caramel.

I took a baking sheet, lined it with wax paper.  Then I placed my graham crackers down nice and neat.  I melted the chocolate the only way I can successfully do so – a bowl and the microwave, in 10-second increments, stirring in between.

When the chocolate was melted, I poured it over the graham crackers as evenly as I could, working fast.  I then used a spatula to smooth it out and get every cracker covered.  As it set, I tossed in the Coconut M&Ms and the pretzel balls.  Gently, I pushed them into the chocolate.

Look at that sweet sweet goodness…

I can always find a way to leave something alone to let it dry.  More like I forget about it once I leave the room.  So while it cooled safely on the counter top longer than the required time, I did laundry, made dinner, fed the kids, changed a diaper.  I had to make sure it would be ready!

It didn’t take long for this to set.  Like I said, it would have been 10x better with the caramel step left in the process.  The chocolate didn’t quite set into the graham cracker.  When I bit into the bark, the layers separated, kind of like how brick would separate without the cement mixture holding it in place.

It was good either way, and this attempt was merely my first.  I have attempted this bark twice since and it was amazing on both occasions.

This bark is great for a party.  I made some for L’s first birthday.  I called it “Deck Plate Bark” and used semi-sweet morsels to carry on with the sailor theme.

I also made these as part of a “Congrats You Graduated” gift basket for my bespren.  I placed pieces of this bark into a big jar and decorated it.  So cute and very well received.

This can be made for any occasion with a little imagination and a hunt for the right colors.  Fourth of July is coming up.  Try this with white chocolate, and coordinating red, white, and blue candies!

What kind of sweets do you hoard that would be perfect for this super easy chocolate bark?