If you’re a mom, you have certainly been asked on more than one dinner occasion “What’s for dessert!?”. My boys almost expect there to be a dessert round at every meal. I am guessing they have inherited their mother’s sweet tooth. But, there’s absolutely no way that I’m either prepared or willing to serve them a sweet treat after dinner every night. 

But, alright, I’ll admit it. Most of the time I like just a sweet little something after a meal too. Since that’s the case, I do my best to have something like my energy bites, medjool dates or a bit of dark chocolate on hand rather than caving and driving around to the Tim Horton’s to snatch up some Timbits.

They say that necessity is the mother of invention, and that is exactly how this recipe was invented. Both me and my boys were in the mood for something sweet after dinner, but I was simply unprepared. We were trying to watch our waist lines at the time (which is why I had no baked goods of any kind in the house). I did have a bag of dark chocolate chips though. But, what was I to do with them (other than run and hide in my bathroom and scarf them down before the rest of them noticed)?

I scoured the cupboards, didn’t find much else that would traditionally go with chocolate…but what I did have were a lot of random healthy add ons that I like to hide in all our food. So, I decided to just quickly melt that chocolate down, and then add in all the healthy stuff and see how it went. Turns out, it was a hit! I’ve been snacking on this chocolate “bark” for a couple years now.  It’s the perfect simple sweet snack!

1- 12oz  pkg good dark chocolate chips (I like Ghirardelli)

Toppings

1/2 C chopped or slivered almonds

1/2 C chopped cashews

1/2 C dried cherries, cranberries, blueberries or chopped apricots

1 Tbsp Chia seeds

1 Tbsp Hemp seeds

1 Tbsp pumpkin seeds

Melt chocolate over double boiler until smooth (do not microwave!). I simply use a glass bowl over top of a pot of boiling water. Pour over parchment covered sheet pan and spread evenly out towards edges of pan with rubber spatula. Chocolate does not have to reach edges of pan. Add toppings (I suggested toppings above, but get creative and use what you have available. A mix of nuts, seeds and dried fruit is the best!) by sprinkling them over top the chocolate evenly. Press down gently (feel free to cover your hand with plastic wrap if you don’t want a mess). Refrigerate at least a half hour. Remove from fridge and break up the pieces. Store tightly sealed in tupperware in the fridge up to a week.