Chocolate Holiday Bark w/ Pecans & Cranberries

I always post a chocolate bark during the holidays....French mendiants being my favorite with the little dried fruits and nuts.

Instagram inspired me once again......late night trolling I found this lick smacking sounding recipe on The Kitchen McCabe's instagram page.

I found the recipe and whipped up a batch....it's that easy.

The combo of toasted nuts, maple syrup. black pepper, sea salt and chocolate were divine!

She used dried cranberries, but craisins aren't my thing, so I opted to use fresh cranberries and loved the results!

You can whip this up in no time. It hardens in the fridge in less than an hour.

Delicious!

Maple Pecan Chocolate Bark w/ Cranberries (adapted from The Kitchen McCabe):

3 cups raw pecan halves (some broken up into pieces)
1 cup dried cranberries (raisins would be good too)
zest of 2 small oranges
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons cracked black pepper (yup! use it all)
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 cup maple syrup
1-2 teaspoons Maldon sea salt
12 ounces dark chocolate chip (semisweet 70%)

Preheat the oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Place the pecan halves, pecan pieces, cranberries, orange zest, cinnamon, pepper, vanilla, and maple syrup in a saucepan and stir to combine. Bring the syrup to a boil over medium/high heat. Stirring constantly, cook for 2-3 minutes, or until the syrup has been completely absorbed by the nuts.

Remove nuts from heat and pour onto the parchment lined baking sheet. Spread the nuts out into a single layer.
Let cool and harden completely. Will be like brittle.

While the nuts cool, line another baking sheet with parchment paper.

Place the chocolate chips in a saucepan and place over medium/low heat (you can also melt chocolate in the microwave in a glass bowl in 45 second bursts). Stir occasionally, until the chocolate is completely melted and smooth.

Pour the chocolate over the parchment lined sheet and smooth the chocolate out to a thickness of 1/4 inch.

Break up the cooled pecans and place them evenly over the surface of the chocolate, working quickly while the chocolate is still warm.

Set the chocolate aside for several hours to set (the fridge works in an hour). Once the chocolate has set, break up into pieces and start snacking!