Afraid-of-the-Dark Halloween Bark

It’s that time of year when children and adults start planning weeks ahead in anticipation for one night of obtaining bags of free, delicious, hyperactivity-inducing candy of all sorts – Halloween. Since stores start selling candy right after Labor Day, my kids are ready for something new by mid-October.

This is the only “bark” recipe I have and can I say, better than any other candy – but a bit pricey. So if you have any to share with friends or neighbors, don’t.

Adapted from an old recipe from Bon Appetit magazine, “candy bark” refers to a candy, usually of chocolate with large pieces of nuts, made in flat sheets.

Afraid-of-the-Dark Halloween “Bark”

1 lb. bittersweet chocolate chips

3 (2.1 ounce) Butterfinger candy bars – cut into irregular 1-inch pieces

3 (1.4 ounce) Skor or Heath toffee candy bars – cut into irregular ¾-inch pieces

8 (.55 ounce) peanut butter cups, each cut into 8 wedges

¼ honey-roasted peanuts

3 ounces white chocolate, chopped

Reese’s Pieces or yellow/orange colored M&M’s 

Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil and spray with cooking spray. Stir chocolate chips in a medium saucepan over low heat until melted and warm (not hot) to touch. 

Pour chocolate onto the foil-lined sheet. Spread into about a 12”x10” rectangle. Sprinkle with chopped Butterfinger bars, toffee candy, peanut butter cups, and roasted peanuts. Make sure all pieces touch the chocolate to stick. 

Put white chocolate pieces in a small saucepan. Over low heat, stir constantly until melted and warm. Remove from heat. Dip spoon into white chocolate and drizzle back and forth over “bark”. Scatter Reese’s Pieces and/or M&M’s over bark, making sure it touches the chocolate and sticks. 

Chill bark until firm, for at least 30 minutes. Slide foil off pan onto workspace or large cutting board. Peel foil off the back of the bark. Cut or break into irregular pieces using a spoon.