Valentine's Day Chocolate Bark

An easy Valentine's day treat for peanut butter lovers! Features a chocolate bark loaded with Reese's candy hearts, crunchy peanuts and M&M's! 

HOW TO MAKE CHOCOLATE BARK

1. Melt the chocolate wafers.
2. Spread on nonstick, flat surface.
3. Add toppings and set.

The first thing you'll need for making a super easy, super simple chocolate bark is chocolate melting wafers. If you're feeling adventurous, and want to work tempered chocolate, you can find everything you need to know here in this peppermint bark recipe.

When using chocolate wafers over tempered chocolate, ingredients matter, and you should choose only high-quality melting wafers, such as Ghirardelli.

1. MELT CHOCOLATE FOR BARK

From there, you would simply follow the package's melting instructions, which usually consists of placing the wafers in a microwave-safe bowl and melting them at 30-second intervals, stirring between each stint in the microwave.

2. SPREAD THE MELTED CHOCOLATE ON A NONSTICK SURFACE

Once the chocolate is melted down, it poured over a nonstick surface such as wax paper, a silicone mat, or even nonstick aluminum foil would do. I like to set wax paper inside of a rimmed baking sheet that is 9" x 13".  This size of the pan serves as a guide for how far out to spread the chocolate, and also helps to contain any stray toppings.

I've found using a long, offset icing spatula makes for easy work when spreading the chocolate.

3. ADD THE TOPPINGS

Melted candy wafers set up fairly quickly, so you should have your toppings on standby before you even begin melting down the chocolate. Sprinkle the toppings evenly across the melted chocolate and allow the bark to set up.

TOPPINGS FOR CHOCOLATE BARK

You can top chocolate bark with just about anything you'd like, but most commonly used are sprinkles, candies, dried fruit, and nuts. But, for this festive Valentine's chocolate bark, I kept the lovers in mind...the peanut butter lover's that is.

FOR THE PEANUT BUTTER LOVERS

Chocolate and peanut butter is such a perfect combination, and it seems to be completely neglected come Valentine's day. Well, not anymore. Strawberries, take a hike. Peanut butter, come on in -- your time has arrived.

PEANUT BUTTER HEARTS

Come late January, Reese's starts releasing those delicious little peanut butter cups in heart-shaped form. They made the perfect eye-catching topping for chocolate bark, and the peanut butter added a nice salty element to the sweet chocolate.

SALTED PEANUTS

Another little hit of salt couldn't hurt, and peanuts not only provided that, but also added crunch to the bark. I don't even love peanuts, however, I was surprised to find that the bites with them were by far my favorite, and I found myself wishing I had added more.

CANDY AND SPRINKLES

M&M's also lent texture to the bark, and added some fun little pops of color. Well, those and the sprinkles. Can't have a holiday bark without sprinkles.

Melting chocolate wafers requires no tempering, and little skill, making it the perfect, stress-free ingredient for working with kids in the kitchen.

This chocolate bark is absolute perfection for getting into the kitchen with kiddos, and not only creating a festive treat, but a few memories as well. It's simple, it's quick, and it has Valentine's day written all over it. Only with peanut butter...not strawberries. Please, enjoy.

5 MORE VALENTINE’S DAY RECIPES YOU’LL LOVE

• Valentine Marshmallow Krispie Treats are simple and easy heart-shaped marshmallow treats topped with hard icing and sprinkles for Valentine’s Day. Perfect for cooking with kids!
• Red Velvet Brownies are the perfect holiday dessert for your Valentine’s Day sweetheart! Made from scratch and equipped with a simple Cream Cheese Frosting. These beauties never disappoint!
• Cherry Cheesecake Sippers are the perfect addition to any Galentine’s Day party! A dessert cocktail made to taste like Cherry Cheesecake!
• Chocolate-Covered Strawberries are easier to make at home that you think! Use real, chopped chocolate or melting wafers — this recipe gives options for both, as well as fun new topping ideas to spruce them up!
• Brownies with Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting and Berries are a great way to ring in any special occasion but are particularly fitting for Valentine's Day!