S’mores Chocolate Morsels/Bark

Free from: dairy, egg, peanut, tree nuts, fish, shellfish, wheat, gluten, soy, sesame, and animal products.

Halloween is just around the corner and given that there will be a surplus of chocolates and other sweet treats handed out of which my kids cannot have, it was time I thought about making something special for them and their friends to enjoy.

There are some who choose not to partake in the festivities which is completely fine. For me, it’s not about anything except for the pure pleasure of being a kid, knocking on your neighbours doors to show off your costume and getting a friendly smile and a treat at the end.

This is the one holiday that I can think of that is completely centered around candy. I remember going trick-or-treating until my last year of high school! I got away with it because of my high-pitched voice which I turned up even higher to sound 8 instead of 12! My favourite part about the candy was definitely the chocolate. Anything chocolate, but especially the solid kind covered in some sports themed foil wrapper. Well, that and the caramel filled ones. Thinking back, my diet as a child wasn’t exactly the best {comparatively speaking} because of all the junk I was able to eat (and ate). I can’t imagine my kids doing that today. Thankfully I don’t have to worry about that because of their allergies. It sounds strange to say this, but it really is such a blessing in disguise. All the things that we stay away from aren’t the best options for us to have anyway.

Now for us, the kids have always stayed home and handed our allergen friendly treats. Last year, I discovered FARE’s initiative called the Teal Pumpkin Project whereby you paint at least one pumpkin teal and place it in front of your door to indicate that your house offers non-food items. I loved this idea so much I did it last year and will again this year and for the years to come. I bought a plastic pumpkin that the kids painted and displayed it proudly on my front porch. I received a lot of great feedback which made the experience pleasant. The kids in our neighbourhood LOVED our house last year because of the things we handed out: bouncy balls, erasers, pencils, stickers, and other little knickknacks.

Even if you don’t have or know anyone who has kids with food allergies or dietary restrictions, you can still support by painting your pumpkin and offering treats which is great because they never expire, unlike that huge box full of junk food you don’t normally eat anyway {unless you do, then never mind!} It’s a win-win any way you look at it; you benefit the children and yourself as well. When starting anything new, it takes time for it to catch on. Hopefully one day the town will be covered in beautiful teal pumpkins come Halloween.

So back to these cute chocolate morsels. I was driving home with Sofia and decided to stop by a favourite store of mine. Every Halloween item (what’s left of it) was on sale. One of the things my little miss grabbed were these chocolate wrapped candies to which I told her we don’t eat. So naturally I set out to make them chocolate BUT I wanted to make it more special than just melting and moulding chocolate. I kept thinking the entire time driving home and a light bulb went on. Well, two did. My CHECK ENGINE light and my imaginary lightbulb on top of my head. Ha!

I made these amazing S’mores cookies (to die for you guys! Will post the recipe up soon) and I thought why don’t I turn plain old chocolate into S’mores chocolate!!? And so I did! I had purchased Halloween inspired moulds last week and thought that’s how I was going to use them.

I got to work in my kitchen, and snapped a pic of the mess that ensued from this project. You can see it plastered all over my social media pages tomorrow! My kitchen looks like that a good 3 times a day! No joke. I cook and/or bake, make a huge mess in the process, then I clean up while the food is cooking or the dessert is baking. Repeat. times 3. Good thing I enjoy spending time in the kitchen!

Back to the subject at hand. Imagine biting into a S’mores sandwich; with gooey marshmallow stretching as far as the eye can see before it gives up and breaks, the crispness from the graham crackers with that hint of honey, and of course, the melty chocolate. Although I’ve never experienced true camping before, I always imagine myself sitting on a log with the fire crackling as I hold a freshly made, perfectly roasted marshmallow, and just-melting-through chocolate S’mores sandwich in my hand. Now take all of that and toss it out the window because this is going to be a totally new experience for you!

The star of the show is obviously the chocolate, followed by tiny bits of marshmallow and graham crackers hidden in every bite you take. Absolutely the perfect treat whether you decide to make them for Halloween or any occasion worthy of celebration. And the nice thing about this is that you can skip the moulds and make it into a bark instead, as you’ll see in the instructions below.

Enjoy my friends. And don’t forget to tag me on your social media pages by using #nodairynocry when making any of my recipes. I love seeing and reading all the comments from you. You’re welcome to post comments here as well. I love hearing from you anytime, any day.

Instructions

1.  Start by melting 1 1/2 cups of chocolate over a double boiler. Once melted, add coconut oil and stir until fully incorporated. Set aside to slightly cool while you prepare the ingredients.

2.  Finely cut marshmallows into small squares, as pictured. {Freeze for a couple of minutes to make it easier to cut if you’re finding it’s sticking to the knife}

3.  Then, using a medium-sized sandwich bag, place crackers inside and pound until crackers become finely ground.

My sous chefs. We take our jobs very seriously!

4.  Next, remove chocolate bowl from the pot and add remaining 1/2 cup of chocolate chips. Stir until chocolate melts and is silky smooth.

To make S’mores Chocolate Bark:

1.  spread the chocolate onto wax paper. Then add marshmallows and sprinkle graham cracker all over.

2. Place in the freezer for approximately 15-20 minutes, until chocolate is dull and hard to the touch.

To make S’mores Chocolate Morsels:

1.  Add marshmallows and ground up graham crackers into the chocolate bowl and gently fold until fully incorporated.

2.  Place in desired mould cavities and freeze for 15 minutes, until chocolate is no longer shiny and is hard to the touch.

3.  Pop out of moulds and either store in a lidded container at room temp {or in the fridge if you prefer your chocolate cold} OR wrap with candy wrappers.

Happy baking and for those of you who will be out trick-or-treating, a happy and safe Halloween to you.

Bon appétit! xo