Valentines Day is fast approaching and whilst Jesse and I don't really celebrate the holiday, we do celebrate chocolate - so it's a good excuse to put together some delicious chocolate recipes to enjoy year-round.
This Peanut Butter Pretzel Chocolate Bark was an experiment gone oh so right. You see, I had a bunch of gluten free pretzels laying about that needed to be eaten, however, I didn't want to just eat them on their own or use them as a dipping vessel.
At the same time I really felt like making something with chocolate and peanut butter - only to realise that chocolate, peanut butter and pretzels really were a match made in heaven.
So I got to thinking. At first I thought about making moulded chocolates, however, to be honest that felt like a little too much effort for this lazy girl - so I settled on chocolate bark.
You see, chocolate bark is one of those deceptively simple creations. It looks really impressive - but really all you did was pour a mixture onto a tray, stick it in the fridge and call it a day.
It takes so little effort but tastes so incredibly amazing - and I decided to lift the amazingness to a whole new level.
Instead of melting regular ol' chocolate and mixing things in - I decided to make my own chocolate bark from scratch. A gluten free, vegan, sugar free and dairy free chocolate bark that still only required melting and mixing.
And oh what a success that experiment was. So successful, in fact, that there's now a designated chocolate bark place in our freezer where a container must sit at all times filled with chocolate bark deliciousness.
That container gets opened at least a couple of times each day when we're in need of a healthy chocolate fix.
But enough yapping! Let me share the recipe with you! >>
Healthy Peanut Butter Pretzel Chocolate Bark Recipe
makes 1 cookie sheet of delicious gluten free, vegan, dairy free,
refined sugar free (or sugar free!) and clean eating friendly chocolate
1/2 cup (90g) coconut oil
3 tbsp maple syrup *see notes for options
1 tbsp (20g) smooth peanut butter
1/2 cup (40g) unsweetened cocoa powder
Pinch of salt
~1/2 cup gluten free pretzels, crushed (to top)
1 1/2 tbsp (30g) smooth peanut butter, melted (to top)
- Line a cookie sheet/baking sheet with baking paper and set aside.
- In a small saucepan, melt your coconut oil with your maple syrup and peanut butter over a medium-low heat.
- Once your coconut oil mixture is melted, remove from the heat and add your cocoa powder and pinch of salt (if using), mixing until combined.
- Pour your chocolate mixture over your baking sheet. You don't want to spread it too thinly so just ensure you don't have any gaps without chocolate.
- Drizzle over your melted peanut butter, swirling with a toothpick or knife if desired and sprinkle over your pretzels.
- Chill in the fridge or freezer until hard and then break into pieces.
- You will need to keep the bark either in the fridge or freezer as it will soften at room temperature. We find it's best stored in the freezer in an airtight container so it's nice and firm!
Notes:
- If you like your chocolate on the sweeter side, use an extra tablespoon of maple syrup. We used 45ml (3 metric tablespoons) plus a few drops of liquid stevia and it was perfect for our tastes. If you want this to be sugar free, sweeten with your chosen sugar free sweetener to taste.
But tell me, do you celebrate Valentine's Day?
What sweet treats are you LOVING at the moment?
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