Chocolate Halloween Candy Bark
/Chocolate Halloween Candy Bark
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An easy and festive chocolate Halloween candy bark, perfect for parties and goodie bags.
Two recipes in one week, are you feeling special yet?!
Maybe you can relate to today’s story time. For years, a family friend has sent out picture-perfect holiday cards alongside a several page year-end recap of her families’ journeys, the highs and lows we all relish in sharing with friends and family. Recently, she announced on Facebook that she would not be sending out her traditional family photo and accompanying letter. I thought about it for half a second before moving on with my day, forgetting all about her important announcement.
A couple of days later, I ran into her while waiting in line at Starbucks to get my hands on my favorite seasonal beverage. Making small talk, I told her that I often looked forward to receiving her annual card and letter in the mail; the 15 minutes it took me to read the entire contents was like a mini vacation, an escape from my own reality. Instantaneously, I realized I had struck a still open wound. She explained how defeated she felt, because friends and family had already shared the details and photos from vacations, parties and other standout moments of the year. Everyone already knew the highlights of 2018 without speaking a single word to one another. It made me pause and think about how I share my own life online. Last summer, I deleted Facebook from my phone (best decision ever), created a private Instagram where I could share bits and pieces of my life without much explanation. I don’t share photos of other people’s weddings, or big important moments that belong to someone else. When the time comes, there won’t be any pregnant belly photos, maternity photos where I might resemble a whale, or the kids first moment of breath.
After leaving my friend at Starbucks, I felt horrible for her. Imagine comparing your life, a great year, only to be disappointed when you get a glimpse of something you perceive as being better.
Nearly three years ago, a co-worker of mine had been openly battling depression and could never seem to do enough. Scrolling through her Instagram feed to this day makes me tear up. She was a beautiful woman, always surrounded by laughter in some of the most stunning places around the world. From the outside she had the perfect life, but on the inside, she was anything but. Two weeks after her thirty fifth birthday, she took her own life.
Since this recent revaluation, I’ve purposefully curbed my time on social media (no more than one hour a day), spent more time outside enjoying me time (currently, that entails reading Pieces of Her by Karin Slaughter), and saying yes to more opportunities to spend time with the humans I don’t get to see frequently.
This past weekend, I was invited to the first of many Halloween parties this month. Everyone was asked to bring two dishes along with their recipe, the only caveat was it needed to be cooked in 30 minutes or less. When I asked why the time limit, my friend said it was because she wanted people to be present. She didn’t want anyone hidden in the kitchen, away from everyone else.
Technically this Halloween candy bark recipe takes all of five minutes, but due to the chilling it does take up the rest of those 25 minutes.
You can use melted chocolate (typically I say use the highest quality you can afford), or chocolate candy melts from a craft store. I recommend you temper the chocolate, but if you don’t mind having melted chocolate goo everywhere, simply melt the chocolate in your microwave and assemble the bark.
To give this bark a slightly different crunch, I made a base of broken Oreo cookies and pretzels, which lended a perfect balance of salty and sweet. Chose any candy you’d like (even candy corn, which looks amazing), such as m&m’s, KitKat’s, Reese’s and decorative candies shaped in eyeballs, bones or skulls.
- 2 cups pretzels
- 2 cups Oreo Cookies, broken into chunks
- 3 cups bittersweet chocolate
- 2 cups assorted halloween candies, broken into bite size pieces
- 2 cups assorted candy such as m&m's, KitKats, Candy Corn, Resse's broken into bite size pieces
