Monday 19 December 2016

Christmas Gifts from our Kitchen - Chocolate Bark


Just popping in with a wee break from all the beer advent calendar posts this month to share some of the Christmas gifts from our kitchen this year.

Once upon a time, I used to take it upon myself to make handmade chocolates. Not just at Christmas but all year round. Very time consuming and you need a lot of refrigerator/counter space for all that cooling down. Given that we now have three cats, cooling on the counter isn't an option.


So the last several years I have replaced the handmade chocolates with homemade chocolate bark! I make a tremendous quantity of the stuff (I bought 8.5 kg of chocolate this year)  and my secret weapon is my trusty slow-cooker. A co-worker shared with me his secret for making huge quantities of the stuff for his big Italian family celebrations and I've been using it since then.

I typically make at least three varieties. One with dark chocolate, one with milk, and one with white. My add-ins will generally vary from year to year but these are my three favourite combinations.


Dark Chocolate with Candied Ginger and Salted Cashews



White Chocolate with Pistachios and Dried Cranberries


Milk Chocolate with Toasted Almonds and Toffee Bits



I made six trays of each of these this year. Now we just have to find the time to get them all packaged up for giving.

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