This Christmas Candy Cane Bark with it’s pretty red and green swirls and topped with crushed pistachios and cranberries is a very festive bark for the holidays.
This candy cane bark is totally adorable and so delicious. It’s loaded with pistachios, cranberries and candy canes.
For some reason I keep gravitating towards using pistachios this season, but you could use whatever nuts you have. Pecans would be nice, almonds would be great.
This is a great recipe to do with your kids because you can get really creative and have lots of fun. I’m an adult, well I’d like to think that I am, and I had tons of fun making this with my friend. We literally were like two little kids.
Ingredients
Detailed measurements and instructions can be found on the printable recipe card at the bottom of the page.
- Candy melts – We’re using red, green, and white melts today. I’ve included a section that explains exactly what they are and where to find them.
- Nuts – I used crushed pistachios to add some vibrancy and flavor to our bark.
- Cranberries – Dried and chopped up, now we can call them healthy right?
- Candy – We’re crushing up some candy canes today. I like to do it in a large ziplock bag so that we don’t make a big mess.
How To Make Christmas Candy Cane Bark
- Line a 9 x 13 baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Melt the candy: Place the white candy melts, red candy melts and green candy melts in 3 different microwavable bowls. Microwave the bowl with candy melts for 1 minute at 50% power. Stir, they won’t look melted, but stir anyway. Place back in the microwave for another 30 seconds at 50% power. Stir again. The candy melts should begin to melt. Place back in the microwave and melt for another 30 seconds at 50% power. Stir again until smooth. Repeat if candy melts are not completely melted.
- Assemble the bark: onto the prepared baking sheet and spread it evenly with a spatula over the entire baking sheet, leaving a couple inches around the edges. Spoon a couple tablespoon dollops each of the melted red and green chocolate candy melts, alternating colors, three across and about four rows if you can fit them in.
- Finish the bark: Take a skewer stick and swirl the red dollops, spreading them out and do the same with the green dollops. Sprinkle the crushed pistachios over the top, then the chopped cranberries and top off by sprinkling the crushed candy cane pieces overtop.
- Refrigerate again until cool enough to break the bark into pieces. Should harden pretty quickly, in about 10 to 20 minutes.
What Equipment Do I Need
You don’t need much! That’s the thin with holiday sweets – they’re a lot easier than you might expect! So let’s get into it, you’ll probably find the tools you need right in your kitchen, ready to be used.
- Rubber spatula
- Parchment paper
- Baking sheet
Where Do I Find Candy Melts?
Candy melts are made of sugar, milk solids, vegetable oils, flavorings and different colors. They are great for making barks or for coating cake pops or cookies. I used candy melts here, I found them at Michael’s and I love them, you can find them in all sorts of colors.
You can also find them on amazon below:
What Else Can I Use
If you’re looking to add a little something extra feel free to add some of these:
- Any kind of chocolate you’d like
- Nuts – again any kind!
- Pretzel
Storing Leftovers
Can be stored in the refrigerator or at room temperature in an airtight container for a number of weeks and makes a great holiday gift.
Craving More Christmas Treats?
- Lemon Shortbread Cookies
- Copycat Bliss Bars
- Gingerbread Loaf with Cream Cheese Icing
- Christmas Morning Wife Saver
- Walnut Roll
- Gingerbread Cake
- Lemon Shortbread Cookies
- Gingerbread Loaf
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Christmas Candy Cane Bark
Ingredients
- 12 oz white candy melts
- 4 oz red candy melts
- 4 oz green candy melts
- 1/4 cup pistachios chopped
- 1/4 cup cranberries dried, chopped
- 1 oz candy cane pieces crushed
Instructions
- Line a 9 x 13 baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Place the white candy melts, red candy melts and green candy melts in 3 different microwavable bowls. Microwave the bowl with candy melts for 1 minute at 50% power. Stir, they won’t look melted, but stir anyway. Place back in the microwave for another 30 seconds at 50% power. Stir again. The candy melts should begin to melt. Place back in the microwave and melt for another 30 seconds at 50% power. Stir again until smooth. Repeat if candy melts are not completely melted.
- Pour the melted white chocolate onto the prepared baking sheet and spread it evenly with a spatula over the entire baking sheet, leaving a couple inches around the edges.
- Spoon a couple tablespoon dollops each of the melted red and green chocolate candy melts, alternating colors, three across and about four rows if you can fit them in.
- Take a skewer stick and swirl the red dollops, spreading them out and do the same with the green dollops.
- Sprinkle the crushed pistachios over the top, then the chopped cranberries and top off by sprinkling the crushed candy cane pieces overtop.
- Refrigerate again until cool enough to break the bark into pieces. Should harden pretty quickly, in about 10 to 20 minutes.
Recipe Notes
- Candy melts are made of sugar, milk solids, vegetable oils, flavorings and different colors. They are great for making barks or for coating cake pops or cookies. You can find them on amazon below:
- Can be stored in the refrigerator or at room temperature in an airtight container for a number of weeks and makes a great holiday gift.
- Any type of nuts can be used for this recipe.
- Please keep in mind that nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on products used.
You can also find Candy Melts at Walmart. I picked up 3 bags of chocolte melts for a Florentynki recipe, Im making this week.
Hi Jo…did you mean dried cranberries in this recipe m. Your pic looks like dried ones, and they are sweeter than the fresh cranberries.
Lyn
Yes! Updated the recipe to reflect that. Thanks. 🙂
These look so fun! I’m going to save this for Christmas time.