During middle school, my best friend invited a few of us over to her house each year for a New Year’s Eve a slumber party. We arrived in the late afternoon, carrying bags with PJs, pillows, and sleeping bags… Which we barely ended up using, of course!
Since her parents typically went out to celebrate with their own friends, Nana (my best friend’s grandmother) ended up as the official host most years. She checked on us every so often throughout the evening, but because we spent most of our time watching chick flicks, painting our nails, and playing MASH, she mainly poked her head in to see whether we needed more refreshments.
Before heading out for the evening, my best friend’s mom always set out plenty of food—enough to feed a small army, not just 5 preteen girls! She generally threw together appetizers and small bites for us to graze on throughout the night, like crudités and dip, chips and salsa, slow cooker cocktail wieners, and crackers with cheese and salami.
But since she knew we loved our sweets, she left us lots of treats too! We found soft-baked chocolate chip cookies, double stuffed Oreos, Red Vines, Snickers, Tootsie Rolls, Reese’s, and Rolos… At the bare minimum. After the clock struck midnight and we sprayed silly string all over their front driveway to celebrate, we usually ended up with lots more savory leftovers compared to the candy!
Although I haven’t seen many of those ladies in years, I still crave chocolate every New Year’s Eve as a result of our fun childhood sleepovers. Instead of purchasing lots of store-bought candy to satisfy my cravings this year, I’ll be making this Detox Superfood Dark Chocolate Bark! It’s full of healthier ingredients and contains no added sugar!
To make this easy chocolate bark, you’ll start with 100% unsweetened chocolate and stevia. The only ingredient on the chocolate label should be chocolate—nothing else! You can typically find it on the baking aisle near the chocolate chips and other chocolate bars. I prefer this brand and this brand!
As for the stevia, it’s a no-calorie, plant-based sweetener that’s clean eating friendly. While I absolutely love my vanilla crème stevia (you know how often I use it… it’s in all of these recipes of mine!), I found that its vanilla flavor overpowered the chocolate if I used it and nothing else.
So instead, you’ll mix in a combination of vanilla crème stevia and Wholesome!’s powdered stevia. I recently discovered it, and I’m already hooked! It’s so easy to use, and I haven’t noticed any strange aftertastes. Even better, Wholesome! products are available at most mainstream grocery stores, Target, and even Walmart! You can also find it online here. (And you can use it in all of these recipes of mine, too!)
Now melt the chocolate in the microwave, being very careful not to microwave it for too long! You want to stir for at least 1-2 minutes after each microwave interval to help prevent overcooking it. Once the melted chocolate is completely smooth, spread it in a thin layer on a silicone baking mat with a spatula. (These mini spatulas are my favorite!)
Time for the toppings! I used a combination of dried apricots, dried mango, almonds, chia seeds, and a sprinkle of sea salt. The fruits’ bright orange color looks so festive (and perfect for New Year’s Eve!), and those textures and flavors paired perfectly together along with the dark chocolate. Just look at all of that yummy superfood goodness!
Every time I make this, I find myself sneaking piece after piece… Which is why I learned to break the bark into smaller chunks… And put half of them on the topmost shelf in the pantry… Where my short 5’2” frame can’t reach without a step stool… ?
And when you make your own, remember to snap a picture and share it on Instagram using #amyshealthybaking and tagging @amyshealthybaking IN the photo itself! (That guarantees I’ll see your picture! ?) I’d love to see your dark chocolate bark and feature it in my Sunday Spotlight series!
| Detox Superfood Dark Chocolate Bark | | Print |
- 4 oz (113g) unsweetened chocolate, roughly chopped (typically, 1 full bar)
- 1 ½ tsp Wholesome! organic stevia, or adjusted to taste
- ½ tsp vanilla crème stevia
- 2 tbsp (20g) dried apricots, diced very finely
- 2 tbsp (20g) dried mango, diced very finely
- 2 tbsp (14g) almonds, diced very finely
- ¼ tsp chia seeds
- ¼ tsp coarse sea salt
- Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper.
- Add the chocolate, Wholesome! stevia, and vanilla crème stevia to a microwave-safe bowl, and stir to combine. Microwave on HIGH for 30 seconds. Stir with a fork for at least 2 minutes. Microwave on HIGH for 20 seconds. Stir with a fork for at least 2 minutes. If there are still small bits of un-melted chocolate, continue to microwave on HIGH for 5 seconds at a time, stirring for at least 1 minute after each microwave interval, until the chocolate is completely melted and smooth.
- Immediately transfer the chocolate to the prepared baking sheet, and spread it into a thin layer about 1/16” thick with a spatula. Quickly sprinkle the remaining ingredients on top, and gently press them down into the melted chocolate with your hands. Let the chocolate cool and harden completely before breaking into small pieces.
I absolutely love both stevia products, and you'll use them in all of these recipes of mine, too! If you prefer, other granulated sweeteners may be substituted for both stevia products. You’ll want the equivalent of ½ cup of granulated sugar. I haven’t tried liquid sweeteners like honey or pure maple syrup, and I’m not sure whether they’ll work.
I prefer this brand and this brand of unsweetened chocolate!
For a quick shortcut, substitute your favorite dark chocolate bar for the unsweetened chocolate and stevia products!
It’s important to dice all of the toppings very finely, no larger than the size of miniature chocolate chips, to make the bark easier to break into pieces and ensure each of those pieces has all of the toppings on it.
Any dried fruit may be substituted for the apricots and mango, and any nuts may be substituted for the almonds. You may omit or substitute the chia seeds as well. I highly recommend using the salt though—it adds a wonderful flavor!
I highly recommend these mini spatulas! They’re much more convenient to use for this recipe than standard-sized ones.
{gluten-free, vegan, clean eating, low fat, low calorie}
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You may also like Amy’s other recipes…
♥ DIY Dark Chocolate Chips
♥ Healthy Dark Chocolate Raspberry Truffles
♥ Healthy Dark Chocolate Blueberry Truffles
♥ Apricot Oatmeal Cookies
♥ Apricot Pistachio Madeleines
♥ Healthy Blueberry Mango Crumble
♥ Lemon Chia Seed Protein Cookies
♥ Strawberry Lemon Chia Seed Protein Muffins
This looks SO good! It might have to be my new favorite bark, next to Peppermint, of course. 😉
Maybe it’ll be your favorite year-round bark, whereas dark chocolate peppermint will be the favorite holiday one! 😉 😉
Oh my goodness… I adore the colors of this bark. So pretty! Chia seeds are such a fun and unusual topping!
Thanks lovely lady! 🙂
Hi Amy,
It’s great u have found another stevia sweetener that doesn’t have a bitter aftertaste( wholesome! Organicstevia). However after reading the ingredients , it says it’s a blend of organic stevia and blue agave inulin. So I guess it’s the blend that makes it have a less bitter aftertaste because blue agave inulin isn’t bitter. But I heard that blue agave inulin is not healthy and it’s High fructose content is even worse than high fructose corn syrup. Do u know any other stevia products that dont have a bitter aftertaste and that doesn’t have other fillers in it. The vanilla creme one u recommend is great but would love to know if u have found a substitute for when I’m making something that doesn’t require vanilla flavours.
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe Jodie! I haven’t heard that about blue agave inulin and high fructose content. Until I read about that high fructose content in a scientific journal article, I’d be inclined not to believe it. Where did you read that fact? As an ex-chemist, I’m very interested in food science things like that! 😉 I haven’t found any other stevia products that I love as much as the vanilla creme stevia and Wholesome’s stevia, but Truvia may be a good option for you. It isn’t nearly as concentrated (I treat it as a 1-to-1 substitute for granulated sugar), and it’s generally easier to find in grocery stores.