“As we give presents at Christmas, we need to recognize that sharing our time and ourselves is such an important part of giving” – Gordon B Hinckley
We have made it to day number two in the 12 days of holiday baking. If you missed yesterday’s recipe, it was for an old classic called Special K Bars. I will say that these go great with your coffee in the morning. It’s almost like a bowl of cereal, covered with chocolate. Ok…maybe not… Just accept that it’s a piece of candy with your coffee and enjoy it guilt free.
Last year at this time, I was in Boston freezing off my you know what, working at America’s Test Kitchen. It was not a permanent position with them, so I decided to rent a furnished studio basement apartment and keep all my belongings at home. My kitchen was almost nonexistent. I had a hot plate and a microwave. I had a bed, a chair and a TV. I didn’t even have a car. Definitely quite different than the lifestyle I had come from. But it was this experience that reminded me how wonderful it could be to share our time and ourselves. I didn’t have anything else to give. I also wasn’t use to the kitchen shutting down at 5:00pm. It had been 20 years since I was done working at 5:00pm on a daily basis. Wow, did I ever have time! I made some of the best friends there. It’s amazing what happens when we have time and share it with others. It seems in today’s world of electronics, we pretty much don’t need anyone, and there is almost no need to ever actually speak to someone. I can now just text them, email them, Skype them. We can buy anything one could possibly want with the click of a button on Amazon and never leave the house. Wow how times have changed and it’s so easy to forget to share our time and ourselves.
It just felt right to whip up a recipe from America’s Test Kitchen this year to share with others. So I pulled out a special interest publication from them on holiday baking. I’m a big fan of holiday barks. They had a nice little rocky road bark. So I figured why not. Looks good and who doesn’t love chocolate, graham crackers and marshmallows? I’m just going to say, good grief, it was so simple and perfect for holiday presents.
Next time I try this, I think I will fancy it up a bit. We made graham crackers a while back for a cheesecake. Those would be great for this bark. And a homemade marshmallow instead of the mass produced mini marshmallows that come in a bag. The more that I think about it, it’s safe to say the recipe is coming soon.
I hope you enjoy the bark, and don’t forget to save some for yourself.
Ingredients
- 6 whole graham crackers
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon table salt
- 1 cup milk chocolate chips
- 3/4 cup mini marshmallows
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans, walnuts, or almonds
Instructions
- Adjust oven rack to center position and heat oven to 375 degrees.
- Line 8-inch square baking pan with aluminum foil, making sure the foil is tucked into all corners and that at least 1 inch of foil overhangs top of pans on all sides.
- Line bottom of pan with graham crackers in a single layer, breaking them if necessary to fit tightly.
- Combine butter, brown sugar, and salt in small saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until butter is melted and sugar has dissolved.
- Scrape butter-sugar mixture onto graham crackers and smooth with small rubber spatula to cover crackers. Bake until caramel is bubbling. 10-12 minutes.
- Remove pan from oven, sprinkle evenly with chocolate chips, and return to oven to soften chocolate, 2 minutes. Remove pan from oven and, using rubber spatula, smooth chocolate into even layer.
- Sprinkle marshmallows and then nuts over chocolate. Press lightly with fingertips to adhere marshmallows and nuts to chocolate.
- Cool on wire rack 30 minutes, then freeze until chocolate hardens, about 30 minutes.
- Grabbing foil overhang, lift from pan onto cutting board and use knife to cut bark into 2-inch squares. Layer pieces between sheets of waxed paper in airtight container and refrigerate for up to 1 week.
20 comments… add one
Alice @ Hip Foodie Mom December 13, 2014, 7:25 am
Love this bark recipe!! And I love America’s Test Kitchen!!! That’s so cool!!! I work with them from time to time on my blog and really love what they are doing for home cooks and foodies everywhere. . and love that you made lasting friendships there. . they seem solid! Love ATK!
serena December 13, 2014, 7:29 am
Thanks Alice! I really enjoyed my time there, and I learned so much from them.
Fatima December 15, 2014, 11:51 am
I love this 12 days of Christmas series…everything looks so just incredible. Your words are equally sweet. I’m savoring every bite, both the words and the food! <3
serena December 15, 2014, 6:18 pm
Thanks Fatima!
Laura @ MommyDearest December 21, 2017, 7:04 am
The 12 days have been great. I have got some really great recipes I can’t wait to try out. It’s so cool that you got to work at America’s Test Kitchen. It’s amazing when you have extra time the things you can do and the connections you can make with people.
serena December 21, 2017, 7:30 am
Thanks so much! It was a great experience at ATK. I learned so much 🙂
Krystal Butherus December 21, 2017, 8:44 am
So many varieties of bark being rolled out this year, it makes my head spin and makes me so excited to try! I would definitely love to make this!
Maria Katsulos December 21, 2017, 5:45 pm
Oh my goodness. These look DIVINE. My dad is a huge fan of Rocky Road ice cream, and add that to the fact that he’s super hard to shop for…might have found a Christmas present if I can scrape together the time to whip these up!! Thanks for the recipe 🙂
serena December 22, 2017, 12:52 pm
They definitely make a great gift. Enjoy 🙂
Pam December 21, 2017, 8:53 pm
This look SO good! I have some marshmallows in the cabinet that need a good recipe. This might just be the one!
serena December 22, 2017, 12:51 pm
Thanks! They are super simple! Give those marshmallows a new home!
Melissa Chapman December 22, 2017, 8:21 am
I love America’s Test Kitchen they give such great step by step recipes. I love this bark for the holidays. I will keep this recipe for holiday visits and parties.
HilLesha O'Nan December 23, 2017, 8:22 pm
This looks so delicious! I have never made my own bark, but I’ll definitely try this recipe sometime.
serena December 24, 2017, 10:18 am
Enjoy! Thanks so much
Cindy Ingalls December 23, 2017, 9:30 pm
I’m usually a traditional peppermint bark girl, but I love trying new recipes, especially ones that look as good at this. Also, I’m a sucker for chocolate and marshmallows.
Molly Kumar December 24, 2017, 4:40 am
The bars look so yum and easy to make too. They make a perfect Christmas gift idea or even keeping some with cookies and milk 🙂
serena December 24, 2017, 10:18 am
I know what you mean, I have definitely kept a few of these for cookies and milk 🙂
Heather December 25, 2017, 8:49 am
This looks delicious and will be a much loved treat this week! I’ll be gifting it as a New Years treat to neighbors!
Sonya June 10, 2018, 4:02 pm
I love this recipe too – so simple, but very sweet and rich. Just fantastic bark!
serena June 22, 2018, 2:11 pm
Thanks so much!