Halloween Bark
Sweet and salty Halloween Bark is a fun candy corn recipe featuring white chocolate studded with candy corn, pretzels, and peanuts, then drizzled with semisweet chocolate for a festive, tasty treat!
The other day, I asked my Facebook followers if they prefer their Halloween treats to be cute or scary/gory. The consensus was for cute treats, which is totally how I feel about the matter. I mean, who wants to eat a cupcake that looks like a brain when you could enjoy festive, colorful Halloween Bark instead?
Personally, I don't think that Halloween sweets comes much cuter than candy corn. But to be perfectly honest, it's not my favorite Halloween confection when it comes to flavor. Me and my self-proclaimed sweet tooth actually find it (gasp!) too sweet. Shocking, I know. However, pair that candy corn with something salty and I'm suddenly a fan.
Ingredients
So when I was inspired to make y'all some Halloween Bark, I decided to temper the sugar overload with not just one, but two sources of salt!
Salty pretzel twists and peanuts balance the sweetness of the white chocolate and candy corn, and they also add a nice crunchy texture as well as visual appeal. WIN!
If you think you've seen pretzel-based bark around here before, you may have caught my Strawberry Pretzel Chocolate Swirl Bark back at the beginning of the year. I loved the way the pretzels contrasted with the sweet chocolate and the slightly tart freeze-dried strawberries in that recipe, so I thought the same premise would transfer nicely to this candy corn variation. And sure enough, the pretzels were just the ingredient to balance everything out!
But then I decided to sprinkle on some peanuts as well -- because, why not? And finally, to jazz it all up a bit more and give the bark a black-ish and white Halloween-ish feel, I drizzled the whole shebang with melted semi-sweet chocolate. Not only does it look snazzy, but it adds another layer of complementary flavor.
Variations
To be honest, I had intended to shower this bark with Halloween sprinkles as well. I have a little tub of orange, yellow, and white nonpareils in my baking cabinet that would have been perfect.
But alas, back when I made this recipe for the blog, we were still between houses and staying at my mom's. All of my sprinkles were packed away in storage, and the grocery stores didn't yet have out their Halloween baking displays. So I apologize. Use your imagination and feel free to get creative with sprinkles if you want to add even more color to this confection!
Halloween Bark would be a festive sweet snack for any Hallow's Eve bash.
It would be a cute treat for gifting to neighbors (you've been BOOed!) or teachers.
And it would be really fun to whip up a batch with your favorite little goblins.
So make it, share it, and watch it disappear...way faster than any cookie resembling a dismembered finger ever would. 😉
More Halloween Fun
- Pretzel Candy Spiderwebs
- Halloween Oreo Pops
- Spider Cupcakes
- Jack-o-Lantern Stuffed Peppers (Halloween appetizer)
Halloween Bark
Ingredients
- 16 ounces white chocolate baking bars, such as Baker's
- 1 cup pretzel twists
- ½ cup candy corn
- ¼ cup salted peanuts
- Orange/yellow/white sprinkles, optional
- ¼ cup semisweet chocolate chips, melted
Instructions
- Line a baking sheet with wax paper or parchment paper. Set aside.
- Chop white chocolate baking bars into small pieces and place in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave for 1 minute; stir chocolate well. Microwave for another 15 seconds; stir until chocolate is smooth. (If necessary, microwave in additional 15-second increments, stirring between each one, until chocolate is completely melted and smooth.)
- Pour melted white chocolate onto the prepared baking sheet and spread it lightly to form an approximate 8- by 12-inch rectangle. Working quickly, arrange the pretzel twists all over the white chocolate, then fill in the spaces between the pretzels with the candy corn and peanuts. If desired, sprinkle the entire surface with sprinkles, pressing them lightly into the chocolate, if necessary.
- Pour the semisweet chocolate chips into a small microwave-safe bowl. Microwave for 30 seconds, stir well. If necessary, microwave in additional 10-second increments, stirring between each, until chocolate is smooth and melted. Allow the melted chocolate to cool for a minute, then transfer to a disposable plastic baggie. Push chocolate down into one corner and snip off a tiny piece of that corner with scissors. Twist the top of the baggie and use it as a piping bag to drizzle the surface of the bark with thin parallel lines of chocolate.
- Refrigerate until chocolate is set, about 45 minutes. Slide wax/parchment paper onto a cutting board and cut bark into pieces. Serve immediately or store in a tightly-sealed container in the refrigerator.
Cute halloween treats are always welcome in my house! I have never made any kind of bark before, but I am DYING to try!
Hope it's a hit, Cathleen...bark is so easy and fun to make! 🙂