The holiday season always seems to throw some curveballs one's way, and more often than not, they require either larger volumes of food than expected or sudden gifts that you hadn't been planning for ahead of time.
To cover my bases on both fronts, I try to always have both some wonderful all-purpose store bought gifts (such as scented candles, timeless holiday ornaments, good quality kitchen linens, gift certificates or cards to popular stores or restaurants, and other items that most everyone likes and will be apt to use) and some homemade treats to hand that I can wrap up in a mason jar, cellophane, gift bags, fun tins or other festive packaging and take with me at a moment's notice.
The nearer we get to Christmas, the more I find myself whipping up batching of quick, scrumptious, crowd pleasing baked goods and candies that require little time and minimal ingredients, yet still pull out all the stops on the taste bud pleasing front. This classic 1950s vintage recipe for Chocolate Peanut Bark does just that and is really one of the quickest holiday dessert recipes you'll ever encounter.
{Even in the midst of the absolute busiest of holidays weeks, chances are you can find a few quick minutes to whip up this ultra straightforward, easy and thoroughly yummy 1950s recipe for Chocolate Peanut Bark, which I find has a tendency to vanish nearly as quickly as I can make it! Vintage recipe image source.}
Now, I want to point out of course that if you're serving or taking peanuts or foods containing peanuts or peanut butter with you anywhere, you will want to ensure as much as possible that no one there is allergic to peanuts. This can be a truly deadly food allergy and is not something to take lightly for one moment.
Though allergies to nuts (peanuts themselves, interestingly, are not actually nuts, but instead members of the legume family) certainly exist as well, they're less common and less likely to be potentially fatal when they do occur, so if you'd feel more comfortable creating this delicious vintage chocolate bark recipe with your favourite nuts, then certainly go for.
I'm partial to the following alternatives and combinations myself (I sometimes like to add in other ingredients on top of the mere two called for in the original recipe):
-White chocolate (instead of milk or dark) and dried cranberries, raspberries, strawberries, blueberries, apricots or other fruit
-Pretzels and cut up (store bought or homemade) caramels
-Crushed candy canes, peppermints, or other flavourful hard candies
-Almonds, dried bananas (banana chips), and a sprinkling of pink Himalayan salt
-Candied citrus peel
-Pieces of Turkish delight candy
-Sunflower or pumpkin seeds
-Granola or breakfast cereals such as Rice Krispies or Cornflakes (my husband especially enjoys the latter)
-Cut up or mini Marshmallows (I like using the multi-coloured mini fruit variety from Kraft for this purpose)
-Graham crackers (combine them with marshmallows for a great s'mores inspired treat that makes for the perfect treat to savour in front of the fire)
-Toasted coconut (I love it with dried pineapple or mango and a sprinkling of Maldon salt for a great tropical inspired dessert)
-Instead of peanuts or other nuts, swirl peanut butter or your favourite nut or nut alternative butter through while the chocolate is still completely melted for a great marbled effect (you can also do this and still add in other ingredients, too)
-Crushed cookies or macarons (white chocolate and Oreos or similar sandwich cookies make for a fabulous cookies and cream bark)
-Dried figs, fresh thyme or rosemary and cashews
-Whole or chopped hazelnuts and pieces of hard toffee
-Fresh pink grapefruit, lemon, lime, mandarin or navel orange zest
-Raisins and oats (or brown rice porridge style flakes)
-Popcorn or kettle corn
-Maraschino cherries, pieces of ice cream cone, sprinkles and (optionally) peanuts or other nuts to create a seriously appealing ice cream sundae inspired bark
-Candied pecans and a sprinkling of dried (food grade) lavender
-M&Ms candies (use the red and green Christmas variety if possible, for an extra festive touch)
-Pieces of meringues, dried berries and the tiniest dash of crushed pink peppercorns
-For a great 1990s throwback to when this cookie was all the rage, use white chocolate and macadamia nuts
-Pop Rocks candy (this makes for a super fun New Year's Eve treat, as the "explosion" of the Pop Rocks on your tongue symbolizes celebratory fireworks)
-And if you're in the mood to be extra trendy, bacon - which I especially like with toffee or caramel bits
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These are but a few delicious bark recipes that you could serve your guests and family alike, and/or bring as holiday gifts this month. Many, I find, also make for stellar Valentine's Day, Easter and Halloween sweet treats as well, and can of course be served and enjoyed at any other time of the year (a tin of dried apple, cinnamon and toffee chocolate bark is one of my favourite autumn go-to homemade desserts and would make for an especially lovely teacher's gift come September).
There's just six more days to go until Christmas and if you suddenly need or simply want to add to your holiday table's spread or bring a thoughtful homemade gift with you wherever you're headed this season, you really can't go wrong with a fabulously easy, timelessly tasty candy like the vintage recipe and my alternative suggestions here. In fact, you could even skip the cookies this Christmas Eve and leave a much appreciated plate of chocolate bark out for Santa! :)
