If you need a simple last-minute gift idea or party recipe, I highly recommend this holiday chocolate bark.

Holiday chocolate bark is made with rich dark chocolate and creamy white chocolate embellished with tart dried cherries and slightly salty pistachios. It is easy to make and it requires just a few ingredients. Best of all, there is no baking involved to make this delicious holiday treat!

holiday chocolate bark with Christmas ribbon

I first made this recipe last year to share with our friends Beth and Jim when we met up at a local winery. The bark is perfect to nibble on when drinking a nice bold red glass of wine. We all enjoyed the bark so much that I decided to keep the recipe in my recipe arsenal for this year.

Holiday chocolate bark makes a great last-minute gift idea for the holidays. This year I made the bark to give out as a treat at work for coworkers and David and I also gave some to friends and neighbors.

The Chocolate

Using really good chocolate is the key to making this bark taste like a million dollars. I highly recommend Ghirardelli Chocolate. It’s rich smooth and deliciously creamy. It’s a little more expensive, but I have found it on sale countless times during this holiday season. Besides, if you make a treat for someone for the holidays, it is totally worth the extra cost.

Dried Fruits or Berries

Since the chocolate is so rich and creamy the bark needs something a little tart in contrast. That is where dried fruits or berries come in. When selecting fruits or berries, try to choose something that is a little tart to offset the sugar of the chocolate.

For this bark recipe, I used dried cherries. Dried cherries are my favorite! I especially love them with chocolate. They are a little more expensive than other fruits or berries and they are somewhat difficult to find in the store. If you can’t find dried cherries, you could use any other dried fruits or berries you like.

The original recipe for this bark called for dried cranberries. They are prettier than the cherries, so you may want to go with them instead. The more tart, the better!

Nuts or Seeds

When selecting nuts or seeds for this chocolate bark, try to purchase some that are lightly salted. The salt helps to round out the sweetness of the chocolate and tartness of the fruit.

Pistachios are a great choice not only because they are good, but because of their green color. Pistachios are odd-looking nuts, but the green color is so pretty nestled into the chocolate bark.

The only downside to using pistachios for the bark is that they are hard to find already shelled. It won’t take that long to shell out the amount needed for this recipe, I actually did it last year when I made this bark. However, this year I used honey-roasted pistachios already shelled. I thought the sweet and saltiness of the nuts went well with the bark.

Feel free to use whatever nuts you like. It’s worth noting that if you know of anyone with a nut allergy, seeds could be used instead. Lightly salted sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds are a great alternative.

chocolate bars dried cherries and pistachios

How To Make Holiday Chocolate Bark with Dried Cherries and Pistachios

First, cover a medium-sized rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.

Next, roughly chop the pistachios and cranberries, keeping them separate. Set aside.

Chop the chocolate, keeping the white separate from the dark. This will help it to melt faster. Place each of the chocolates into a separate medium-sized microwave-safe bowl.

Microwave one of the bowls of chocolate in 30-second increments, stirring at the end of each one. It may seem a little daunting, but keep doing the 30-second intervals so the chocolate melts slowly. Continue heating and stirring until the chocolate has melted and becomes smooth.

Do not overheat the chocolate or it will become too thick to smooth out. It’s best to stir the chocolate until the last bit of the chocolate has melted. It took me approximately (3) 30-second intervals with my microwave.

Repeat promptly, with the other bowl of chocolate.

Alternatively, you can place a bowl over simmering water on the stovetop.

pouring chocolate onto rimmed baking sheet

Pour the dark chocolate out onto the prepared sheet pan. Use a spatula to help spread it out into a thin layer somewhere between ⅛ and ¼-inch thick. (The chocolate will not spread out to the edges of the pan.)

dolloping white chocolate onto dark chocolate

Working quickly, drizzle and dollop the white chocolate over the milk chocolate. Use a toothpick, chopstick, or butter knife to swirl the white chocolate into the dark, until you like the effect you create.

Don’t overwork it, or the white chocolate will begin to disappear.

swirling the white chocolate into dark chocolate

Sprinkle the chocolate with the chopped pistachios and cherries. Very lightly press the nuts and fruit into the chocolate with a clean finger (one that you haven’t licked) to ensure they adhere to the chocolate.

Refrigerate the bark until set; about 1 hour.

Remove the bark from the refrigerator and break into small, medium and a few large pieces. Serve immediately or package and gift.

For best results, store in a sealed container or divide into small plastic bags inside the refrigerator for ideal freshness.

holiday chocolate bark with mountain view

We hope you will enjoy this recipe and share this holiday chocolate bark with friends and family this holiday season.

Merry Christmas!

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