Fall Chocolate Bark with Dried Apples and Roasted Pepitas

5 from 5 votes

Fall Chocolate Bark with Dried Apples and Roasted Pepitas

This Fall Chocolate Bark with dried apples and roasted pepitas is the ultimate homemade Fall chocolate bark recipe. It is full of Fall spices like nutmeg and cinnamon and lots of sweet yet salty flavors.

Prep Time10

Cook Time15

refrigerator time1

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Diet: Gluten Free

Servings: pieces

Author: Dominique

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.

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