{Easy Recipes} Chocolate Bark and Chocolate-covered Cereal

One of our friends had asked us for advice on how to keep the holidays a little more stress-free.  She had a couple parties to attend and, in addition to a bottle of wine, wanted to bring something homemade.  But she insisted she wasn't a baker.  So I suggested two very easy sweet treats anyone can make for the holidays:  Chocolate Bark  and Chocolate-Covered Cereal. 

Not only is Chocolate Bark, but it's pretty and can be customized to anyone's tastes.

Ingredients

1 package semi-sweet chocolate chips (any melting chocolate would do)

a variety of "toppings":  nuts, dried fruit, candy canes, cookies, m&m's, sea salt

(the more adventurous could add wasabi peas, chili peppers, etc)

Directions

1. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

2. In a large bowl, melt the chocolate (you could use a double boiler, but the easiest way for a novice is by microwaving the chocolate in 10 second intervals.  After each 10 seconds, stir the chocolate. Repeat until the chocolate is all melted and smooth).

3.  Add the nuts, dried fruit, and any other non-colored ingredients to the melted chocolate.

4. Pour the chocolate mixture on the cookie sheet.  Use a spatula to spread it out into a thin layer.

5. Add the colorful ingredients to the chocolate layer.

6. Put the chocolate in the fridge for a few hours or overnight to set.

7. After the chocolate sets, break it apart and place it in a nice cookie tin or Chinese take-out box for gifting (or eating!).

The other easy dessert idea was Chocolate-covered cereal. Jacques Torres sells tons of chocolate-covered Cheerios in his shop. He sells a 4 oz bag for $6, but for the same price, you could make a whole bunch of them to hand out as gifts or serve at your holiday party (or any other party like this one).

Ingredients:

1 package semi-sweet chocolate chips (any melting chocolate would do)

"Cheerios" (We used Trader Joe's $1.99 version) 

Directions:

1. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

2. In a large bowl, melt the chocolate (you could use a double boiler, but the easiest way for a novice is by microwaving the chocolate in 10 second intervals.  After each 10 seconds, stir the chocolate. Repeat until the chocolate is all melted and smooth).

3.  Gradually add some cereal to the chocolate and mix together.  Continue to add and mix until all of the cereal is covered by chocolate and all of the chocolate is used up.
4. Make balls of the chocolate-covered cereal and place them on the cookie sheet.
5.Put the cookie sheet in the fridge for a few hours or overnight to set.

7. After the chocolate sets, place them in a nice cookie tin (lined with parchment paper) or in individual cellophane bags and tie them with a ribbon for gifting.