Chocolate Bark with Bacon and Pistachio

Still on simplifying the holidays by gifting people you appreciate with home-made gifts...

Chocolate Barks are also another well-loved holiday treat.   If you are still short of gifts for those people you would like to show your appreciation for this holidays, this is another option for you.

It  is almost fool-proof, for those with no patience for the exact science of baking.  You just have to temper the chocolates and add whatever appropriate topping you feel like.  But of course, it is a given that you should invest in using high-quality chocolates.

I have huge packs of assorted nuts on stand by in the freezer. I always store my nuts in below zero temp to prevent them from going rancid fast.  If properly stored, nuts can last about 6 months to a year.

cashew, walnuts, pistachio

Here is my version of the Chocolate Bark with Bacon and Pistachio recipe.  It is loosely inspired from the recipe from this site.

Ingredients:
10 oz semi sweet chocolate chips (make sure it is of high quality)
8 slices bacon
1/2 cup pistachio,  shelled and roughly chopped
Directions:
Begin by cooking the bacon until crispy over medium heat. Remove and place on a paper towel to drain and cool. Once cool, slice and or crumble the bacon into manageable pieces about 1/8″ big. In a double boiler or a glass mixing bowl over a sauce pan with 2 inches of boiling water melt the chocolate chips until just melted.
Pour the chocolate onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Using a spatula, smooth the chocolate into a rectangle that is approximately 3/8″ thick. Top the warm chocolate with the crumbled/sliced bacon and chopped pistachios, evenly dispersing. Using the palms of your hands, gently press the bacon and pistachio bits into the surface of the chocolate.


Transfer the baking sheet to the fridge to set. After one hour remove and slice into whatever sized pieces you want. Put the bark back in the fridge for another 30 minutes or so to ensure that it is completely set.

Here is how mine looked like :

Here is another variation of the recipe using dark chocolate and candied walnuts:

Just follow the recipe listed above and use dark chocolate, omit the bacon bits and substitute the pistachio for the candied walnuts.


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