"Quickie" Christmas Bark

Merry Christmas Eve!

I must admit - I have never made Christmas bark, chocolate bark or any other kind of bark. I didn't realize how easy it is.

I had a sample of "tart cherry" chocolate bark at the Holiday Market a few weeks ago. It was LOVE at first taste!

I purchased a bag of the tart cherry candy crunch so I could make it for Christmas.

I made it. Then I lost it.


Yep.


I bagged & tagged individual small bags of the bark. I then placed all of the small bags in a large Ziploc bag to save for Christmas.

Yesterday, I decided to get my bark so I could prepare the bark dish for Christmas Eve. It was no where to be found - in my entire house. I have searched high and low in the upstairs kitchen, the downstairs kitchen, all the freezers in the house and every cabinet - three times!

Nadda.

No tart cherry bark to be found.

Have you ever lost your candy? This is the second time for me. A few years ago a friend gave me an entire box of Harry & David chocolate truffles for Christmas. You know how these are addicting, right? Totally.

I ate a few of the truffles immediately and then asked the hubster if he would put them away. Meaning - away from me so I don't devour the entire box at one sitting. He did.

A few weeks after Christmas and after all the massive Christmas food was gone, I asked him to get them for me.

He couldn't find them. We searched the entire house and there were no Harry & David truffles to be found. I was up-set. He forgot where he had hidden them. It wasn't until ten months later as we were cleaning out the house for our annual garage sale that "I" found them. Aaaaaaahhhhhh….what a nice surprise.

He had hidden them deep in his sock drawer.

I proceeded to devour them like a hungry dog.

Yesterday, after the massive, exhausting search for the Christmas bark, I decided to make another batch.

Thank goodness it is a quickie kinda thing.

The second time around, I made it much better.

Not only did I use the white candy melts, along with the tart cherry candy crunch, I also mixed in some black candy melts and marshmallows.

So simple to make and everything comes from a bag.

I melted 1/2 bag of black candy melts and mixed in some tart cherry.
I melted 1 bag of white candy melts and mixed in more tart cherry.
I spread the black melts on a cookies sheet that I had lined with waxed paper.
I tossed some mini marshmallows on top.
I carefully spread the white melts on top of the black.
Be careful with the "spreading" or you will end up with gray bark - YUCK.
I tossed on more mini marshmallows.
Don't make this while wearing your red suede shoes - trust me on this one.

That's it.

I spent an hour looking for the lost candy.

I made the new batch in about 15 minutes.

I should have used a lot more marshmallows. They seemed to make everything work together in perfect harmony. Fa-la-la-la-la - La-la-la-la! Next time I may use an entire layer of marshmallows between the dark and white candy melts. YUM.

Keep in mind, that candy melts do have a pleasant taste, they are not chocolate. Making this bark with real white and dark chocolate would be the bomb.

I am still extremely puzzled as to why my first bag of bark disappeared.

Maybe I will find it in a few months - or a few years. All I know, is when I do find it, it will be a nice surprise. Surprises are just cool.

Before I wish you a very "Merry Christmas," I have a few more last minute cakes to share with you!

These snowflake cupcake are white through and through…almost!

They are white chocolate cupcakes, filled with dark chocolate buttercream, topped with white chocolate/ganache buttercream, sparkle sugar and fondant snowflakes.

This cake is a dark chocolate buttermilk cake and filled with dark chocolate ganache. It is covered with orange-rind Swiss meringue buttercream and a ring of dark chocolate ganache. The snowflake wreath is made of fondant.

This wraps it up for Christmas baking, caking and candy making this year.

Now it's time to party!

I wish you the Merriest Christmas of them all!

Merry, Merry, Merry

Donna
xoxo