How to Make Sea Salt Cookie Bark in Your Dorm Room

A lot of people have their own signature baked good– Dominique Ansel has the cronut, others have grandma’s chocolate chip cookie recipe, red velvet cake pops, or those amazing slice and bake sugar cookies that are stamped with pumpkins around Halloween. I used to envy these people, you know, at times when someone tells you to “bring something.” It sounds fun, but really I would just go into a panic.

Now that we’re mature off-campus people without meal plans, pot-luck gatherings have become popular for us lazy, social folk. When everyone brings something, it stinks to show up empty handed. And my token stay-out-of-the-kitchen-or-I’ll-start-a-fire friend stole the role of booze-bearer long ago.

I’m a snob about baking from scratch and even though I can’t deny that I giddily eat Duncan Hines frosting by the spoonful when it’s in my neighbor’s kitchen, I can’t bring myself to ever buy my own. (Also, I’d eat the whole container immediately.)

So, for me, preparing for a pot-luck became a daunting task. After all, nobody’s got time for that (at least I don’t, because I value thorough Instagram scroll time and I don’t own a mixer or even a bag of flour).

That is, until I discovered chocolate bark. It was love at first bite. Not only is it super easy and no-bake, but the possibilities are endless, and it’s guaranteed to please a crowd.

Gif courtesy of crushable.com

This sea salt cookie bark recipe is adapted from the Barefoot Contessa (all hail Ina) recipe for French Chocolate Bark.

Foolproof Sea Salt Cookie Chocolate Bark

• Prep Time:15 min
• Cook Time:5 min
• Total Time:1 hr 20 min
• Servings:10
• Easy

Ingredients

• 8 oz Semisweet chocolate chips (1 bag)
• 8 oz Bittersweet chocolate chips (1 bag) -- Going half and half is key.
• Toppings: something sweet, something salty -- You pick.

• Step 1

  Melt chocolate in the microwave, making sure to stir every 30 seconds to a minute so chocolate melts evenly.

  

• Step 2

  Meanwhile, line a baking sheet with parchment paper. (You can trace a rectangle using a piece of paper and flip the traced side over if you’re looking for straight edges or want to be just like Ina Garten–I do.)

• Step 3

  Pour the melted chocolate over the paper and using a soft spatula, spread it to desired thickness.

  

• Step 4

  Add toppings. (For this recipe, I used crushed up Tate’s Cookies, unsalted pecans, dried cranberries, and dried pineapple. And don’t forget the sea salt.)

  

• Step 5

  Refrigerate for an hour or until chocolate is firm and not melty.

  

• Step 6

  Break into shards and serve.