Christmas Bark Recipe

three image collage showing christmas bark decorated with candy canes, peanuts, and red and green candies. center diagonal color block with text overlay.

This Christmas Bark recipe is the easiest treat you’ll make this holiday season! Made with pretzels, candy canes and salty peanuts, this sweet and salty chocolate bark has just a handful of ingredients and is sure to delight the entire family! Perfect for cookie plates and dessert tables – a must make for Christmas!

Looking for more Christmas favorites? Make sure to try my Divinity Candy, Toffee and Grinch Cookies!

Bark is one of those quintessential Christmas recipes that I know I can turn to in a pinch. Whether you opt to go the classic Peppermint Bark route or really jazz it up the way I did with this Christmas bark, it’s sure to be delicious!

This easy bark recipe is made with salty pretzel and peanuts and decorated with festive red and green Christmas candy and candy canes for a fun twist on classic chocolate bark. Make up a quick batch for your next holiday gathering or party – it’s sure to be the first thing to go!

Why You’ll Love This Recipe for Christmas Bark

Just a few ingredients. Two, really, if you don’t count the pretzels. The rest is just your choice of toppings really and I like to use what I have on hand.

Easily customizable. I’ve used candy canes and M&Ms but really you could use any of your favorite candies, nuts, or cookies to finish this bark off.

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Quick and easy. We’re talking less than 15 minutes of hands on time plus a bit for chilling. Not to mention this recipe is no bake so you can keep that oven free for making a batch of Grinch Cookies or Whipped Shortbread Cookies!

More Easy Christmas Candy

Martha Washington Candies

Peppermint Fudge

Buttermilk Pecan Pralines

Divinity Candy

Homemade Gumdrops

Chocolate Covered Mint Patties

What You’ll Need

This easy Christmas Bark is a must make for Christmas! With just three main ingredients and then lots of topping options, this easy bark recipe is as quick to make as it is delicious! As always, you can find the full printable recipe with complete instructions in the recipe card at the end of this post. Let’s take a look at what you’ll need:

Ingredients

milk chocolate chips – Dark chocolate chips or semi-sweet chocolate chips can also be used in this recipe – both are delicious options! Another option is to use chocolate almond bark or melting wafers. I love the Ghirardelli melting wafers.
mini pretzel twists – You could also use pretzel sticks or waffle pretzels. The pretzels add a lovely salty component to this sweet chocolate bark.
white chocolate chips – I recommend high quality white chocolate chips for this recipe or use Ghirardelli melting wafers or almond bark.

Toppings

red and green M&Ms – purchased the Christmas bag or get the kids to help separating M&Ms from the standard bags.
candy canes – you’ll need to roughly chop or crush the candy canes. Feel free to go with classic candy canes or more colorful options.
salted peanuts – I love peanuts in this recipe but if you’re not a peanut fan or have allergies, consider using pecans, almonds, pistachios, salted cashews or macadamia nuts for this recipe. Or just omit from the recipe, easy!
sprinkles – add even more festive flair to this bark with a quick sprinkle of Christmas sprinkles.

How To Make Christmas Bark

Line a half baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.

Place milk chocolate chips in a medium sized microwave safe bowl and microwave in increments of 15 seconds at 50% power until completely melted and smooth. Stir the chocolate in between each interval.

Pour the chocolate onto the prepared sheet pan and spread evenly with an offset spatula.

Gently press the pretzels into the top of the melted chocolate. The pretzels will not be covered by the chocolate – you will still see them. Use smaller pieces to fill in gaps.

Place the sheet pan into the fridge to chill for about 15 minutes or until the chocolate has set up.

When the chocolate is nearly set up, melt the white chocolate chips just as you did the milk chocolate chips. Place white chocolate chips in a medium sized microwave safe bowl and microwave in increments of 15 seconds at 50% power until completely melted and smooth. Stir the chocolate in between each interval.

Carefully pour the melted white chocolate over the set milk chocolate and pretzel layer. Try to pour as evenly as possible, only using an offset spatula or spoon to spread the chocolate if necessary.

Working quickly, top the white chocolate layer with M&Ms, crushed candy canes, peanuts and sprinkles. All of these toppings are optional.

Place sheet pan in the refrigerator for an hour or until the bark has firmly set up. Break or cut the bark into pieces to serve.

Storage Information

I like to store this bark at room temperature however, if your home is particularly warm, the bark can soften. To safely store in the refrigerator, transfer to an airtight container and layer the bark with parchment in between each layer. Stored at room temperature, this bark will be good for up to 10 days. Stored in the refrigerator, the bark will stay good for up to 3 weeks.

To Freeze: I don’t recommend freezing this bark because the M&Ms and candy canes will break and liquify. Not ideal.

This recipe can be easily doubled. Use a full sheet pan instead of the half sheet pan and you’ll be all set.

Christmas Bark FAQs

What other toppings can I add to my chocolate bark?

You can’t go wrong here: any nuts: almonds, walnuts, peanuts, pecans, pistachios, crushed Oreos, roughly chopped pretzels, toasted coconut, sea salt, toffee bits, sprinkles, broken up candy canes or Peppermint Andes baking chips.

Can I freeze this bark?

I really don’t recommend freezing this bark unless you haven’t added the candy canes or M&Ms. Those in particular do not freeze well.

Trish’s Tips and Tricks

This easy bark recipe comes together quickly so it’s best to have all the ingredients pulled out and ready to go before starting.
When pouring on the white chocolate, you will need to work very quickly. The milk chocolate layer will be cold from the refrigerator which will cause the white chocolate to set up quickly.
If the white chocolate sets up before you get your candy and nuts on, pop the entire sheet pan in the oven (250°F) for just a few minutes. Once the chocolate has softened – just a bit – you can add the toppings.
Use an offset spatula to spread the chocolate quickly and evenly.
Don’t try to melt the chocolate too quickly or it can overcook and seize. Short intervals at 50% power is best. Make sure to stir between each interval!

Variations To Try

Let the bark set up, melt a different kind of chocolate and drizzle over the top, add more sprinkles if desired

Try dark chocolate or semi-sweet chocolate for a richer chocolate flavor that’s less sweet.

More Christmas Treats

Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

Peanut Butter Fudge

Martha Washington Candies

Peppermint Fudge

Buttermilk Pecan Pralines

Divinity Candy

Homemade Gumdrops

Almond Joy Cookies

M&Ms Marshmallow Dream Bars

Coconut Macaroons

How To Make Christmas Bark

Christmas Bark

Course Candy, Dessert Cuisine American Keyword christmas bark, christmas bark recipe, mint chocolate bark, recipe for christmas bark Prep Time 10 Cook Time 5 Chill Time 1 15 Servings Calories 550kcal Author Trish – Mom On Timeout

Ingredients

12 ounces milk chocolate chips or semi-sweet chocolate chips
70 to 80 mini pretzel twists
24 ounces white chocolate chips or almond bark or melting wafers

Toppings

½ cup M&Ms red and green
6 candy canes roughly chopped or crushed
½ cup salted peanuts chopped
¼ cup sprinkles optional garnish

Instructions

Line a half baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
Place milk chocolate chips in a medium sized microwave safe bowl and microwave in increments of 15 seconds at 50% power until completely melted and smooth. Stir the chocolate in between each interval.
Pour the chocolate onto the prepared sheet pan and spread evenly with an offset spatula.
Gently press the pretzels into the top of the melted chocolate. The pretzels will not be covered by the chocolate – you will still see them. Use smaller pieces to fill in gaps.
Place the sheet pan into the fridge to chill for about 15 minutes or until the chocolate has set up.
When the chocolate is nearly set up, melt the white chocolate chips just as you did the milk chocolate chips. Place white chocolate chips in a medium sized microwave safe bowl and microwave in increments of 15 seconds at 50% power until completely melted and smooth. Stir the chocolate in between each interval.
Carefully pour the melted white chocolate over the set milk chocolate and pretzel layer. Try to pour as evenly as possible, only using an offset spatula or spoon to spread the chocolate if necessary.
Working quickly, top the white chocolate layer with M&Ms, crushed candy canes, peanuts and sprinkles. All of these toppings are optional.
Place sheet pan in the refrigerator for an hour or until the bark has firmly set up. Break or cut the bark into pieces to serve.

Notes

Storage Information I like to store this bark at room temperature however, if your home is particularly warm, the bark can soften. To safely store in the refrigerator, transfer to an airtight container and layer the bark with parchment in between each layer. Stored at room temperature, this bark will be good for up to 10 days. Stored in the refrigerator, the bark will stay good for up to 3 weeks. To Freeze: I don’t recommend freezing this bark because the M&Ms and candy canes will break and liquify. Not ideal.

Nutrition

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Christmas Bark Recipe - Mom On Timeout