Chocolate Almond Butter Bark - NO Bake!!!

You know how some people are "morning people" while others are "night owls"?  Some are coffee, some are tea?  The great office debate - Blue Ink vs. Black Ink!  And the always popular 'salty" or "sweet".

I was always a salty!  If faced with a pan of brownies or a bag of chips...I went for the chips.  Popcorn is the only snack needed at the movies in my opinion.  Extra helping of mashed potatoes on Thanksgiving or another piece of pie....Mashed Potatoes - no contest!

I feel certain there is some scientific, biological reason for that and an equally logical scientific, biological reason behind the fact that since adopting a Paleo diet - I now have a bit of a sweet tooth.

Thankfully, a tablespoon of coconut sugar in my morning coffee usually does the trick.

USUALLY!

Other days, I want a piece of chocolate, a piece of candy, a cookie or a cupcake or that extra piece of pie I didn't eat last Thanksgiving!

So, I have been playing around with Paleo baking.  It's different.  I've mastered a chocolate chip cookie recipe, a brownie recipe made with zucchini and a banana chocolate cake that you make in the blender (found it on Pinterest and tweaked it a bit - but it's super easy - you should try it!).  I can make a wonderful Paleo fruit crumble (my sweet husband's favorite dessert) and a healthier version of a Wendy's chocolate frosty.

I decided on Tuesday that it was time to try and make candy.  I've been seeing all these Paleo truffle-like almond butter balls with dates and chopped nuts and some chocolate and these chocolate and almond butter bars (that look really complicated to me!), which made me think of bark or brittle.  I used to always make the white chocolate, peppermint bark at Christmastime.  I also used to love to make the chocolate, Saltine cracker candy (you Pinterest fans will know exactly what I'm talking about!) and my mom's friend Katherine used to always make chocolate bark with dried fruits and nuts around the holidays.

I was pretty sure I could manage a decent bark with just what was in my pantry and without turning on my oven!  SCORE!

I tried 2 versions - one where I mixed the chocolate and almond butter together and one where I swirled them so they mixed, but still stayed separate.  The swirled version was prettier, but the mixed version set up better - so that's what I am going to share with you.  If you want to try the swirled - just start with a layer of chocolate, spoon on big dollops of almond butter and swirl with a butter knife, be gentle!

Dark Chocolate Almond Butter No Bake Bark

12 ounces of chopped organic dark chocolate (85% cacao)* - check out these fun facts about choosing the best dark chocolate here.
6 Tablespoons of creamy, sugar free almond butter (I prefer Trader Joe's for so many reasons)
1/4 cup thinly sliced raw almonds
1/4 cup no-sugar-added dried cherries
1/4 cup no-sugar-added dried apricots
Healthy pinch of coarse salt

Line a small rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and have all your ingredients ready to go.

Melt your chocolate gently - you can use the double boiler method or you can do what I do (and Ina Garten does) melt yours in the microwave.  I start with 30 seconds, check and stir if it's started melting at all, 30 more seconds, stir, 30 more seconds, stir - that should do it in my experience, but you may need to go one more or one less round depending on your microwave.

Add the almond butter to the chocolate and mix.

Pour the mixture onto the baking sheet, smoothing it out to an even layer (about 1/4 inch).  Sprinkle the dried fruit and nuts into the chocolate almond butter mixture, then sprinkle with the coarse salt.

Place in the freezer for at least an hour.

Once it is frozen solid, take it out and break into pieces.  I put mine into a zipper bag and back into the freezer.  It's crazy hot here in Texas, so things melt quickly.  I let it sit at room temp for 3-5 minutes before eating - it was great!



*My kids thought this was too bitter, so I made a second version for them that they loved.  Substitute 6 ounces of Enjoy Life chocolate morsels for 6 ounces of the dark chocolate and add 1 T of unsweetened vanilla cashew milk during the melting process.  This lightens up the flavor, but still gives them the benefit of all the antioxidants in dark chocolate.