‘Young professional by day and culinary adventurer by night, Alicia loves to share hospitality and homecooked meals with friends. She writes Jaybird, a blog about finding home and happiness wherever life takes you. Say hi on Facebook or Twitter, and check out her recipe collections on Pinterest!
Tis the season of generous giving…and the season of sweet treats! Every year at the beginning of the holiday season, I get bit by the baking bug. It begins innocently, with something like making pancakes on a Sunday morning. All the sudden, I realize the day has flown by as I bake cookies for friends and prepare Christmas pudding for the coming holiday. A stack of plastic containers threatens to overtake the counter as I divvy up sweets for sharing and snacking.
Today’s recipe for Cake Batter and Dark Chocolate Bark is one of the easiest, most colorful treats you could make. There’s no actual baking required, and you can customize your bark with festive sprinkles. Asking your friends or your little ones to join you in the kitchen makes preparing for the winter holidays even more fun. The two layers of melted chocolate need to be frozen separately, so you can spend your down time catching up, writing a holiday letter or having a dance party in the kitchen. 
I found this creative twist on peppermint bark when I worked as an AmeriCorps volunteer in a high school. My students came from all different backgrounds, and I wanted to offer everyone a special winter treat that wasn’t specific to any one holiday. I made each of my students a decorated bag full of Snowdrops (my family’s favorite- chocolate chip meringues), chocolate chip cookies and Cake Batter and Dark Chocolate bark. Their joy as they received their bags of treats was a heartwarming reminder of the meaning of the season: showing love and generosity to one another. Thankfully love of cake batter seems to be universal.
Recipe: Cake Batter & Dark Chocolate Bark
6 ounces dark chocolate
12 ounces white chocolate
3 teaspoons Funfetti or white cake mix
Rainbow sprinkles or other festive toppings
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Melt dark chocolate in the microwave in 20 second intervals, stirring in between. When chocolate has liquefied, pour it onto the parchment paper and smooth it over the sheet with a spatula. Freeze for 10 minutes. Melt white chocolate, again in 20 second intervals. Don’t be hasty–white chocolate burns easily. When white chocolate has liquefied, stir in cake mix until smooth and let sit for three minutes. Remove the baking sheet with frozen chocolate from freezer and pour white chocolate mixture on top. Smooth with a spatula and immediately cover with sprinkles. Freeze for 20 more minutes.
Remove sheet from the freezer and break bark into chunks. Try not to eat it all at once! Keep refrigerated or in a cool place until ready to serve.
Recipe: How Sweet It Is via Sweetapolita
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