A Tale of Two [more] Barks.

December 20, 2010 · 129 comments

You could say that after the cake batter bark, I developed a bit of a bark obsession.

Better yet – a full-fledged addiction. I can’t stop thinking about bark combinations, bark flavors, bark textures, bark colors…

And before you ask, no, I don’t have a life. (FYI: have you seen this bark? I swear she is inside my head.)

So instead of boring you with two different bark recipes in the same month (totaling the bark recipes to three!), I decided to share them both in one post. Bark overload. Bark insanity. Bark gluttony.

Do you mind? Good.

Let’s get started. The first bark is island coconut lime bark.

Don’t feel like being in the snow for Christmas? Then make this! It will transport you to the tropics.

Except after you eat it all you probably won’t want to see a bikini for at least six weeks.

I have been eyeing this coconut Lindt for months, and it was the first thing that came to mind when I thought of this bark. It is not required – you can simply use white chocolate and add coconut. But I love the taste and texture it gave.

And I know… I just mentioned that I didn’t really like dried fruit and nuts in my chocolate. Well, this doesn’t count. You can eat this in addition to all of the other chocolate you eat. Because it’s fruit, so it’s healthy.

Perfectly acceptable.

I used dried bananas, papayas and pineapple because they were magically accessible in my local grocery store. You can use whatever ingredients you would like!

Island Coconut Lime Chocolate Bark

16 ounces high-quality white chocolate (Lindt, Godiva, Ghiradelli, etc)

1/4 cup toasted coconut

1/4 cup salted cashews, chopped

1/4 cup dried pineapple, chopped

1/4 cup dried papaya, chopped

1/4 cup banana chips, chopped

1 tablespoon lime zest

Melt the white chocolate in a double boiler or microwave (in about 30 second intervals to prevent burning). Set aside and let cool for about 1-2 minutes. Lay parchment paper on a baking sheet. Mix half of all of the ingredients into the chocolate, and pour on the parchment paper. Quickly top with remaining fruit, nuts and coconut, then place in the refrigerator for at least 20 minutes. When ready to serve, break apart with hands.

Store in the refrigerator.

Friends… bark is not just for the holidays anymore.

Moving right along.

As I waxed poetic about the cake batter bark, many of you mentioned adding crushed cookies and Oreos to the chocolate. Don’t mind if I do.

But since I found plain chocolate with only crushed Oreos to be a bit boring, I decided to make quadruple layer cookies and cream bark. Take a deep breath.

Layer one:

Layer three:

I’m having a major issue with this bark. I cannot stay away from it. It is currently in the freezer and I’ve almost broken three teeth in a desperate attempt for a taste. The chocolate is smooth and the cookies are crunchy.

And my pants are tight.

Four Layer Cookies ‘n Cream Chocolate Bark

26 ounces high-quality milk or dark chocolate

26 ounces high-quality white chocolate

10 Oreos, crushed

The recipe will take about 60 minutes total, but much of it is down time. Crush the Oreos and set aside. Lay parchment paper on a large baking sheet.

Melt 14 ounces of dark chocolate in a double boiler or microwave. Pour on parchment paper and spread, sprinkle with crushed cookies, and set in the freezer for 15 minutes. Within the 15 minutes, melt 14 ounces of the white chocolate. Pour on top of dark chocolate and cookies – it will most likely NOT spread evenly because of the cookies, but move quickly and use a spatula to spread it out. Don’t stress if it isn’t perfect because that is what makes the bark look “cool” when it is a finished product. Sprinkle with more cookies and set in the freezer for 15 minutes.

Repeat this method with the dark chocolate layer again, and then the white chocolate layer, sprinkling cookies on each time and refrigerating. It may look messy at first, but the final product is fun!

Store in the refrigerator.