Happy National Nut Day! Yes, it’s already October 22nd. Can you believe it?! I mean, some people just can’t wait for Thanksgiving or Christmas. Me? All about National Nut Day. Okay fine. So this is the first I’ve heard of it. But I’m still totally into it. Walnuts. Pecans. Almonds. Pistachios. Yes, please. Especially when they’re mixed into chocolate almond butter cookies or walnut shorties or walnut rosemary bread. Or sprinkled on top of dark chocolate bark… Speaking of. I created a recipe for dark chocolate bark that’s perfect for Thanksgiving. It doesn’t require any oven space (I know that’s at a premium on T-Day), and can be made in advance. Inspired by fall colors, this holiday-themed bark is studded with chopped green pistachios, flecks of candied orange peel, and dried cranberries. Hope you like it! 
| Prep Time | 15 minutes |
| Cook Time | 30 minutes |
| Servings |
-8 servings
|
- Vegetable cooking spray
- 10 ounces dark chocolate, melted 70 percent cacao
- 1/4 cup chopped candied orange peel
- 1/4 cup shelled salted pistachios, chopped
- 1/4 cup dried cranberries
- 1/4 teaspoon large flake sea salt such as Maldon or Fleur de sel
Ingredients
|
|
- Lightly coat an 8-inch pan with unflavored cooking spray. Line with parchment paper or tin foil, leaving a small overhang. If using tinfoil, lightly coat with more unflavored cooking spray.
- Pour melted chocolate into pan and spread evenly
- Sprinkle with candied orange peel, pistachios, cranberries, and sea salt
- Chill in the refrigerator until set, at least 30 minutes. Peel off of the tinfoil or parchment and break into squares.
How to melt chocolate:
You could use a double boiler, but I always prefer the microwave. Here's my technique:
1. Roughly chop the chocolate and put it in a microwave safe bowl
2. Microwave for one minute, stirring half way.
3. Microwave at 10-15 second intervals, stirring in between, until the chocolate is melted.
I’d love to know – Have you ever had chocolate bark before? What are your favorite toppings? xx, Caroline P.S. I’m a member of The Recipe Redux blog group. Every month, Redux bloggers post a healthy recipe around a theme. This month’s theme was…National Nut Day! For more nut-filled recipes, check out these wonderful blogs:
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Caroline is a freelance writer, nutrition communication consultant, and counselor with a holistic approach to healthy living. 
This looks amazing! Such pretty colors and beautiful photos. I’m totally making this for the holidays 🙂
Thanks Whit! 🙂
I have a drool situation going on over here! Can’t wait to make this. . .Thanks, Caroline!
Caroline! So awesome to see you commenting on here, friend! Glad you like the recipe 🙂
yum yum, this bark looks amazing, love that it’s dark chocolate not while, I’m not a fan of white chocolate!
Thanks! I don’t like white chocolate either 🙂
These are right up my alley. I’d like to make these over the holidays. Where do you buy candied orange peel?
Thanks Alicia! My first choice is to buy them at a gourmet chocolate/candy/nut shop because you only need a few pieces – you can chop each thick piece into lots of little bits. You can also order them on Amazon (search ‘candied orange peel’), on the King Arthur Flour website, and on Nuts.com. You could also try using Trader Joe’s Sweetened Dried Orange Slices if there’s a store near you.