By Julia Dzurillay
Columnist
We’ve all heard rumors about the health benefits of dark chocolate, but most chocolate lovers will tell you that the real reason they flock to this dessert is because of its smooth, rich taste. This week, Lion’s Plate incorporates this delicious dessert with a quick and easy dark chocolate bark.
There are many ways to make chocolate bark — my family makes peppermint bark with melted white chocolate and crushed candy canes during the holidays. If you love trail mix, you can even add some crushed pretzels and peanuts to creamy milk chocolate. This recipe, however, uses dried cherries and roasted pistachios to bring both sweet and salty elements to rich, bittersweet dark chocolate.
Ingredients:
1 cup roasted shelled pistachios
3/4 cup dried cherries
Zest of one orange
1 tsp sea salt
1 tbsp coarse sugar (optional)
24 oz. dark chocolate chips
Directions:
- Pour pistachios in a large Ziploc and seal it. Using the back of a spoon, smash the pistachios until most of the pieces are broken in half. Add dried cherries, orange zest, sea salt and coarse sugar. Shake bag until ingredients are mixed well.
- In a microwave, melt dark chocolate chips in 30-second intervals until smooth.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Pour melted chocolate onto baking sheet.
- Coat chocolate with pistachio-cherry mixture. Add more sugar, if desired.
- Place in refrigerator to harden for at least one hour.
- Remove bark from refrigerator. Using a knife, cut bark into large chunks.
