It's getting to be that time of year when I need to start planning and getting started on my Christmas baking. Every year I want to try my hand at something new and, for some reason, this year I have a small obsession with chocolate bark.
I blame Pinterest.
I recently joined and I've already pinned several things to my boards. One day, someone I follow posted a chocolate bark recipe, so I searched for more and, sometime later, I had decided I needed to create my own, a twist on one of my all-time favorite baked goods.
Growing up, my grandmother made Hello Dolly bars for Christmas every year. It was always a special thing she made when we would come and visit because it was my favorite.
Now, some of you know exactly what I'm talking about. But others are trying to figure out what a Hello Dolly bar is. Some people call it a seven layer bar. It has a graham cracker crust, then you sprinkle chocolate chips, walnuts, and sweetened coconut on top. Over all that you pour sweetened condensed milk and bake it.
So sweet, so good!
Some people use pecans instead of walnuts, others add butterscotch chips. But this is the recipe our family always used.
I have already created a Hello Dolly cupcake, it's a yellow graham cracker cake with walnuts and chocolate chips and a toasted coconut buttercream icing. So far, that is still my favorite recipe that I've created.
But how to turn this bar cookie into a candy?
It took only 5 ingredients:
White Chocolate Chips
Dark Chocolate Chips (you could use semi-sweet or even milk chocolate, but I wanted to cut into the sweetness of the white chocolate and other ingredients)
Graham Crack Crumbs
Chopped Walnuts
Toasted Coconut
First thing I did was take 1/2 cup of sweetened coconut flakes and spread it out on a cookie sheet. Toasting coconut is super easy. Put the cookie sheet into a preheated 350 degree oven and check every few minutes, stirring it with a wooden spoon. The stirring is very important for even toasting.
While the coconut is in the oven. Melt the white chocolate chips.
I put them in the microwave, stopping it every 20-30 seconds and stirring. White chocolate melts faster than chocolate, so keep an eye on it!
When it's melted and smooth, spread the white chocolate on a parchment sheet or Silpat lined cookie sheet.
Since I was making this up as I went along, I covered the white chocolate with 3/4 of a cup of graham cracker crumbs. That was too much, I'll explain why later. I would suggest using 1/4 to 1/2 cup of crumbs. Gently press the crumbs into the white chocolate and put it in the fridge to harden.
Around this time, my coconut was done and I pulled it out of the oven to cool.
Once the white chocolate is hardened, melt the dark chocolate.
Again, I microwaved it at 20-30 second intervals, stirring it each time I checked. When it was fully melted and smooth, I spread it over the white chocolate/graham cracker crumb layer.
I then sprinkled the 1/2 cup of toasted coconut and 1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts.
Make sure to press the coconut and walnuts gently into the chocolate so they adhere.
Pop the sheet pan back into the fridge and wait for the chocolate to harden.
Now comes the fun part. When everything is hard, break the candy into various sized pieces.
Here is where I explain why 3/4 cup of graham crackers was too much. The dark chocolate couldn't stick to the white chocolate because the graham cracker layer was too thick, so when I broke it apart, several pieces separated between the layers.
That being said, it was still delicious! Take a small piece and pop it in your mouth and it has all the flavors of a Hello Dolly bar cookie!
