White chocolate bark with dried cranberries, raisins, & pecans

We all attempt to build our lives. Keyword: attempt. As if constructing a building, we spread out our love, sprinkle it with dreams and hopes, and like a piece of toast, out pops our perfect vision. Unfortunately, as much as I’d want things to be that way, and to have everything just the way you want it, sometimes it breaks. Maybe not your entire life, but portions of it. Come on, it’s happened to you. I know that’s definitely true for me. In some ways, we are all a little bit broken, but if we embrace and accept our brokenness instead of fighting it, it might work out for us. It might make us better.

Why don’t we take some tips from unassuming white chocolate bark? Or bark in general, aka the most foolproof sweet in the world. Melted, shimmering white chocolate is spread on a sheet pan and showered with a variety dried fruit and nuts. It’s left to set for a bit, and then broken into scraggly looking pieces. But nobody cares about the way it looks, about the way its essentially broken. All they care about is its essence, and the fact that it tastes exceptionally good, with a mix of subtle flavors and textures, sweet and not so sweet, chewy to crunchy to smooth.

Sometimes we need to be reminded that it’s totally alright to be broken because you know what? We all are. If we acknowledge that and realize that it is totally okay and we actually are better in our brokenness, life will be all that much more worth savoring.

White chocolate bark with dried cranberries, raisins, & pecans

Adapted from Ina Garten

Note: this recipe is really a blank canvas for any type of chocolate/nut/topping/spice you want. Feel free to use milk or dark chocolate instead of white. Apricots, golden raisins, dried cherries would be wonderful. Pistachios would also add a beautiful element. Seriously, anything except a paperclip would work. Just make sure you only add about 1 cup of toppings (total) so you don’t end up crowding the bark and messing with the “stickage” of the chocolate. We don’t want to lose any scragglers.

16 ounces white chocolate

1/2 cup pecans, toasted and chopped

1/4 cup cranberries

1/4 cup raisins

Cinnamon, for sprinkling, optional

Set a large piece of parchment paper down on an even surface. Draw an 8 x 10-inch rectangle on the parchment with pencil.

Place 3/4 of the chocolate in a glass bowl and put it in the microwave on high power for 30 seconds. Give it a good stir with a spatula. Put it back in the microwave for another 30 seconds and stir again. Continue to heat and stir every 30 seconds until the chocolate is just melted. You definitely don’t want to overheat the chocolate so be careful here. Immediately, add the remaining chocolate and allow it to sit at room temperature, stirring often, until it’s completely smooth. (If you need to heat it a little more, place it in the microwave for another 15 seconds at a time.)

Pour the melted chocolate onto the parchment paper and spread it lightly into the drawn rectangle. Sprinkle the top evenly with the pecans, cranberries, and raisins. Sprinkle with a little cinnamon, if using. Set aside for at least 2 hours until firm, or refrigerate for 20 minutes. Break the bark in pieces and serve at room temperature.

 

Leave a Reply

  1. Sacha says:

    It was nice to meet you at the conference on Saturday. I hope you enjoyed the rest of your day and workshops! I checked out your list of cookbooks — we share a lot of favorites.

    I make this base bark recipe for Christmas every year, making one batch with pistachios and dried cranberries and one with almonds and dried cherries. Like you said, you cannot go wrong!

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