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This Fall Chocolate Bark with dried apples and roasted pepitas is the ultimate homemade Fall harvest chocolate bark recipe. It is full of Fall spices like nutmeg and cinnamon and lots of sweet yet salty flavors.
If you were looking for a chocolate dessert that screams FALL, then look no further! This chocolate bark recipe is full of the best Fall flavors like apple, toasted pumpkin seeds, maple syrup, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cranberries. The chocolate has a crisp texture and each bite is filled with salty, sweet, and Fall spice flavors.
It’s delicious, easy to make, and a great dessert to bring to a party, make as a gift, or make for yourself. Try my apple pie energy bites or pumpkin stuffed dates for more Fall snack deliciousness.
Table of Contents
What makes this recipe great
- It is allergy friendly! This recipe is nut-free, dairy-free, and gluten-free. It is also naturally Vegan.
- The roasted pepitas have the most wonderful toasted nutty flavor because of it. They also have a hint of maple sweet flavor!
- You get all the health benefits of pepitas in every bite. They are full of nutrients, healthy fats, antioxidants, magnesium, zinc, iron and copper.
- This bark dessert makes for a great snack or gift!
Ingredients needed
- dried soft apples– make sure that the apples are the soft dried type and not the hard chip-like apples.
- pepitas/ pumpkin seeds– these are the type of pumpkin seeds that are green and without a shell.
- dried cranberries– without added sugar is best.
- maple syrup– pure maple syrup and not a type of melted sugar is what should be used.
- cinnamon– Ceylon cinnamon is best.
- nutmeg– it can be ground yourself or purchased pre-ground.
- cloves– ground cloves adds to the mixture of Fall spices.
- ginger– ground ginger adds a nice warm spice.
- semi-sweet chocolate– use any kind that you like or that suits your dietary needs.
- sea salt– I like the chunky Maladon sea salt flakes for desserts like this.
See recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
Additions/ Substitutions
- Instead of cranberries, you could use raisins.
- Instead of cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves, you could use pumpkin spice.
- Instead of pepitas, you could use sunflower seeds, hemp seeds or chia seeds.
- You could add nuts. Sliced almonds, walnuts, or peanuts could work.
- You could add shredded or flaked coconut.
- You could add crushed up pretzels.
Dietary tweaks
- To make this dairy-free or Vegan– make sure to use a dairy-free chocolate. I like the semi-sweet chocolate from Trader Joes or Enjoy Life chocolate chips.
- To make Paleo– use HU chocolate.
Step by step instructions
Step 1: Cover the pepitas in maple syrup and spices. Roast them in the oven.
Step 2: Melt chocolate in a microwave safe bowl.
Step 3: Pour melted chocolate onto a lined cookie sheet. Spread it out then cover in roasted pepitas, cranberries, and dried apples.
Step 4: Refrigerate the bark and then cut into pieces.
Expert tips
- Let the pepitas cool before putting on top of the chocolate. They harden and develop a bit of a sweet crisp layer over them once they have cooled a bit.
- Use high quality chocolate. This affects the taste of your whole dessert, so choose a chocolate that you like the taste of and that fits your dietary needs.
- Have all toppings prepped in advance. Once you have your chocolate melted and spread out on the pan, it is best to quickly sprinkle all of the toppings on top so that it doesn’t start to harden before you have the chance to. So you should roast the pepitas first, cut the dried apples and have all the other toppings measured out and ready.
How to store it
- In an airtight container in the fridge. It should last 2-3 weeks in the refrigerator.
- At room temperature, in an airtight container. It should last 1 week this way.
Other Fall treats you may enjoy:
❤️ Don’t forget to check out my favorite Thanksgiving recipes here! ❤️
Did you try this recipe? Please leave me a ⭐ review below!
Fall Chocolate Bark with Dried Apples and Roasted Pepitas
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup pepitas/ raw pumpkin seeds, (pumpkin seeds without shells, the ones that are green)
- 1.5 Tablespoons maple syrup
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
- 3/4 cup dried soft apples, cut into 1 inch pieces
- 1/4 cup dried cranberries
- 12 ounces semi sweet chocolate, (dairy-free or regular chocolate)
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Cover a cookie sheet in aluminum foil.
- Put the pepitas into a medium bowl and cover in maple syrup. Mix. Add the cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves, and mix. Pour the pepitas onto an aluminum foil lined baking sheet, and spread them out. Bake for 12-15 minutes. Remove the roasted pepitas from the oven and let cool.
- Melt the chocolate. You can do this by putting the chocolate into a microwave safe bowl and microwaving it in 30 second increments, mixing in between each increment. You can also melt the chocolate on the stovetop.
- Put parchment paper on a cookie sheet, pour the melted chocolate on top and spread it out with a spatula. It should be about 1/4 inch thick ( it won’t fill the whole cookie sheet, but a large portion of it).
- Sprinkle the dried apples, roasted pepitas, dried cranberries and salt on top of the melted chocolate. ( Optional- add a pinch of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves on top as well)
- Refrigerate the bark for an hour before cutting into pieces. Then place in an airtight container and store in the fridge for 2 weeks. If you don't want to refrigerate it, you can let the bark cool to room temperature for 2-4 hours, then cut it and and store in an airtight container at room temperature for 1 week.
Notes
- Let the pepitas cool before putting on top of the chocolate. They harden and develop a bit of a sweet crisp layer over them once they have cooled a bit.
- Use high quality chocolate. This affects the taste of your whole dessert, so choose a chocolate that you like the taste of and that fits your dietary needs.
- Have all toppings prepped in advance. Once you have your chocolate melted and spread out on the pan, it is best to quickly sprinkle all of the toppings on top so that it doesn’t start to harden before you have the chance to. So you should roast the pepitas first, cut the dried apples and have all the other toppings measured out and ready.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
