Flash in the Pan: Cookie Chocolate Bark

[Sometimes, you just want a dish that’s quick and easy–no fuss.  I’ve decided to offer a mini-post every once in a while, for a dish that comes together incredibly quickly or else is so simple to make that no recipe is required. Here’s today’s “Flash in the Pan.” (For other FitP recipes, see “Categories” at right).]

I had actually been thinking of a completely different post for today, but then this happened. (And seriously, how could I not share?)

I often tell the story of how, when we were in our twenties, my friend Gemini I announced one day that she was going to quit smoking (at the time, most of my friends and I were smokers). “I am never going to smoke another cigarette again for as long as I live,” she proclaimed. I was aghast. Completely incredulous, I asked, “But how can you be so sure?” Shaking my head, I persisted, “I mean, what if you have a craving? What if someone offers you a cigarette at a party? What if you really want one?” Of course, it wasn’t the thought of giving up cigarettes that truly bothered me (I knew I could stop smoking at any time; and shortly thereafter, I did). No, when I imagined myself in that situation, I was thinking “chocolate” instead of “cigarette.” I knew that for me, life without chocolate was simply unthinkable. Then, candidahappened. No more Caramilk while watching my soap opera (and for that matter, no more soap opera). No more milk chocolate chips in my chocolate chip cookies. No more Hershey kisses. No more Wunderbars split with the HH. Not even any more Godiva truffles for Valentine’s Day. Well, these days, I can say with certainty that I will never eat another piece of conventional (dairy-full, sugar-laden) chocolate again for as long as I live.  Luckily, the ACD doesn’t veto raw cacao, unsweetened chocolate or cocoa powder (at least, not in the later stages).

This recipe is the result of the ultimate collision of serendipity, synergy and synchronicity (or any other fancy “s” words you can think of). I struck on the recipe totally by chance, as a result of having the disparate components on hand and deciding to combine them, just for the heck of it. The final product, I daresay, outshines any one of the ingredients on its own. So, you know how when you bake cookies, sometimes they don’t all turn out perfectly? You’re prepping a batch to bring to that office cookie swap, say, or to bring to a potluck at your BFF’s house, or maybe for your daughter’s birthday party at home. And you end up with a few of those slightly distorted, slightly-too-large, or oval-instead-of-round, or raggedy-on-the-edges, or not-enough-chocolate-chips duds that you don’t want to serve to anyone, but you also don’t want to eat all on your own, either? Or maybe you’re making shortbread and a few cookies crack down the middle, or shatter into pieces when you remove them from the cookie sheet. Well, what to do with those extra bits and pieces that just don’t seem to fit anywhere else? Here’s what: you put them in a ziploc bag in the freezer and save them for this chocolate bark. After I made my glorious Chocolate Chestnut Mousse Tarts, I found myself with a few remnants of broken tart shells that hadn’t made it out of the pans in one piece. I decided to save them in the freezer, thinking I’d use them later as cookie crumbs or folded into ice cream. Instead, I had the notion to enrobe them, rather than nuts, in chocolate for homemade chocolate bark. Oh, my goodness. Oh. My. Goodness. Oh. MY. GOODNESS. Holy yum! HOLY. YUM. I say, yes! (yes! yes! yes!). Seriously, this stuff is worthy of a scene in When Harry Met Sally. (“I’ll have what. . . I’m having.”). And it’s so easy! The bark is ready in about 15 minutes, and contains only five ingredients (if you don’t count salt). I made the first batch with leftover shortbread crust, and the second (on the right in the photos) with the Sugar-Free Sugar Cookies from Naturally Sweet & Gluten-Free. Both were spectacular. Give up chocolate? Thankfully, there’s no need. And when it’s made with raw cacao and sugar-free to boot, you can indulge happily. In fact, I think I’ll bake another batch of shortbread just so I can make this bark again. Then, I’ll invite Gemini I over and we can eat a bunch of it together, non-smoking style.

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