Barks – Carter Family Recipes (2024)

Salted caramel barkis a delicious, easy to make holiday treat. It makes a great holiday food gift, too. Give it as a host or hostess gift, or place it into a pretty jar tied with ribbon for a delicious, homemade food gift!

Ingredients

• 1 11.5oz.package of Ghirardelli Dark Chocolate Chips
• 1 11.5oz.package of Ghirardelli Milk Chocolate Chips
• 1 11oz.package Kraft Caramel Bits + 2 tbs water
• Coarse Ground Sea Salt

Procedure

1. Rip off a piece of wax paper and cover a cookie sheet. (see hint below)
2. In a microwave safe bowl, microwave the caramel bits with 2 tablespoons water for 2 minutes. Then stir and microwave for additional 30 second intervals till fully melted.
3. Place both packages of chocolate chips in a separate bowl and melt in the microwave or place on the stove with a double boiler and stir until melted and glossy.
4. Spread the melted chocolate with a spatula on the wax paper, making sure the chocolate goes all the way to the edges.
5. With a spoon drop dollops of the caramel onto the chocolate.
6. Take a spatula and swirl it into the chocolate in an up and down motion across the pan creating swirled ribbons.
7. Sprinkle the salt across the top. Don’t be stingy with the salt.
8. Place your cookie sheet in the freezer for about 15 minutes.
9. Take it out of the freezer and break the bark into pieces. I turn it over when attached to the wax paper and and hit it with my meat mallet to break it apart.
10. Pull off of the wax paper and layer in a food safe container with parchment paper and refrigerate till ready to serve.

Cook’s Notes

If you take a damp sponge and wipe it on the cookie sheet before you put the wax paper on it, the wax paper will stick and not move around when you go to spread the chocolate

You heard me. Bacon. Popcorn. Chocolate. That’s right! This salty-sweet combination is so delicious it should be illegal. Forget stringing popcorn around your tree—this delectable treat is where it’s at.

Ingredients

• 2 slices center-cut bacon, chopped
• 1/3 cup kettle corn, popped
• 1/8 teaspoon coarse salt
• 7 ounces dark (72% cacao) chocolate, finely chopped

Procedure

1. Create mise en place: Make sure you have everything you need—prepped ingredients and equipment—ready to roll before you start cooking. You’ll need 7 ounces dark chocolate, 2 slices center-cut bacon, 1/3 cup kettle corn popcorn, and 1/8 teaspoon coarse salt. As far as equipment goes, you’ll need a small pan, a microwave-safe bowl, and a baking dish lined with parchment paper.
2. Stir and sizzle: Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chopped bacon; cook 4 minutes or until crisp, stirring occasionally. Remove bacon from pan and lay on a paper towel to get rid of extra fat.
3. Melt the chocolate: Place chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave at 20% power for 15 seconds; remove bowl from microwave, and stir. Repeat procedure about 4 or 5 times, micro­waving and stirring until most of chocolate has melted. Let stand 1 minute or until chocolate is thoroughly melted and smooth, stirring occasionally.
4. Spread it thin: Pour chocolate mixture into a 13 x 9-inch baking dish lined with parchment paper. Spread to 1/16-inch thickness.
5. Top it off: Set a new favorite holiday tradition—let your little helpers top this gift-worthy bark. Spread popcorn and bacon evenly and sprinkle with coarse salt.
6. Cool and serve: Freeze 5 to 10 minutes to set. Break bark into 15 pieces (about 1 ounce each) and serve!

• 3 cup skinny pretzel sticks, broken into small pieces but not crushed, then measured
• 18 (1-ounce each) squares white chocolate
• 2 cup dry salted peanuts

1. Line a rimmed cookie sheet with parchment or waxed paper.
2. Melt the chocolate in a double boiler over simmering water until smooth, or melt in the microwave in a 2 quart glass dish. Microwave on high (100 %) for 1 minute, stir, and microwave on high for 1 minute more. If necessary, microwave on high for 10 seconds more, and stir until the chocolate is melted and smooth. Stir in the pretzel pieces and peanuts. Stir well with a flexible spatula.
3. Spoon onto the prepared cookie sheet, spreading the mixture out so that ingredients are relatively evenly distributed.
4. Allow for the chocolate to cool for several hours or refrigerate for about 45 minutes, until firm. Break the bark into irregular pieces, like peanut brittle. Store in cookie tins, or package in Chinese food take-out cartoons lined with waxed paper.

Servings: 8 cups servings