Make Your Own Designer Barks – Delicious Custom Gifts for the Holidays
I just checked on the internet and you can buy “Designer Barks” in a cute tin online for as much as $35.00 per pound! Design your own barks with supplies here at Cake Art at fraction of that cost!
Barks are amazing wonderful candies that are so easy to make, as versatile as you want them to be and wonderful presents for any time of year!
Peppermint Crunch Bark is the most popular bark late in the year, but the basic recipe applies to all barks.
Base Recipe
- 1 lb white, milk or dark Chocolate Candy Coating
- ½ cup of Candy Crunch
Instructions
Cover half sheet board, large jelly roll pan or cookie sheet with waxed paper.
Melt candy coating in top of double boiler. If candy coating is too hot, it can melt your crunch. This would still taste amazing, but may not be quite as attractive. Test the candy by touching some to the inside of your wrist, like you would a baby bottle. Stir in crunch. Once evenly distributed, pour out onto waxed paper. Spread as much as you can with your spatula, then lift on end of the board or cookie sheet and tap on the table to level the candy further. Using this method, you can make the candy quite thin. If you prefer the bark to be thicker, skip this step.
If desired, sprinkle a little more of your candy crunch on top of the bark.
Place in the freezer for 7 to 9 minutes or in the refrigerator for 10 to 15 minutes, or until bark has completely hardened. Allow to come to room temperature. Break into small pieces.
Packaging your bark will take a small amount of calculation. If you are packaging 1 lb of bark, you will need a box or tin that will hold 1 ½ lbs of candy. A half lb. of bark will display nicely in a 1 lb. bag, with room to tie off the bag nicely, etc., etc..
The Peppermint Crunch we sell is wonderful!! You’ll find many recipes that suggest you just used candy canes or peppermint sticks for your bark. The thing is, these candies are only colorful on the outside and are plain white on the inside. Our Peppermint Crunch is beautiful holiday red and green through and through.
Another option is to melt one kind of chocolate, like dark chocolate, for instance; spread it on your parchment or waxed paper and allow it to set up at room temperature. Then pour your white chocolate-peppermint crunch mixture over top of this and spread. Put this in the freezer or fridge to set up- again for 7 to 9 minutes. Chocolate and peppermint? Yum!!!!!
You can always choose to add more than ½ cup of crunch to your pound of melted candy. If you do decide to stick to the base recipe, remember that 5 lbs of white candy coating and 1 1lb. bag of Peppermint Crunch will leave you with 6 lbs. of finished product. Plus, are you ready for the cost? You can make 6 lbs. of delicious, beautiful bark for $5.00 per pound!!!
The possibilities are endless!
Some other Bark combinations:
- White or milk chocolate with Lemon Crunch.
- Dark Chocolate with Tangerine Crunch
- Milk Chocolate with Toffee or Butter Crunch
- White chocolate with pistachios and dried cranberries
- Butterscotch candy with crushed pretzels
- Milk Chocolate with Caramel Bits and Toasted Pecans
- Any Flavor Chocolate with your Favorite Nuts (Toast nuts in the oven at 325˚ for 8 to 10 minutes and cool)
Just to name a few. Make it the way you are your favorite person like it!
You can line the inside of your box or tin with waxed paper, tissue paper or a pretty doily before filling it with candy. Pick up some cute boxes at Cake Art – we have some beautiful ones!- or some tins at a dollar store and Wow your friends and family with Custom Hand-Made Designer gifts for the holidays. Great gifts for teachers, neighbors, co-workers.. and don’t forget to make some for yourself to enjoy!