I am not a big Halloween girl. Never have been, and probably won’t be until I have children of my own—I have big plans for baby poodles, maybe a scuba diver, and, let’s not forget, The Blues Brothers. There is something about Halloween that just grosses me out, maybe it’s the witches or the gory costumes. I have vivid memories of my mom’s ceramic witch bowl sitting on the kitchen table, and being unable to finish my breakfast as a child. My resistance to the kid-centric holiday was so bad one year my parents just threw in the towel and bribed me to trick-or-treat. I think they were worried that I was going to miss out on the childhood experience, and wanted me to learn to face my fears. As it turns out, an Alexander Hamilton in hand is a pretty good extrinsic motivator. All the while, I was researching how to make sure your Halloween spoils were not tampered prior to receiving them; I watched far too much news as a child. (I also took a rain jacket and umbrella everyday in elementary school!) It is no small wonder I work with anxious children, I can really identify with them.

Once my candy anxieties were quieted by ensuring the seals were not broken, the candy was the one part of Halloween I could get behind. I didn’t eat much of it, but mama loved her some Twix (still do!). I guess I should I call my parents and say thank you because this Halloween I decided to face another one of my fears: tempering chocolate. Ever since I began seeing my baking hero, Claire Saffitz, go through trial and error trying to temper chocolate on Gourmet Makes, the thought of trying it myself challenged and scared me. See also: the perfect combination for growth. Tempering chocolate basically means that you have to bring the chocolate to three different temperatures. The tempering causes an altering in the crystal formation of the chocolate, and when it dries it will be shiny and snap when broken. Don’t get any ideas about short cuts either, you cannot use a sous side, as the stirring is elemental in the tempering process. Also, if you want any chance of making a decent, homemade Peppermint Bark this coming holiday season, you too will have to temper your chocolate. This recipe used the Seed Method to temper.

So this Candy Bark accomplished three things: used up my left over Halloween candy, taught me to do something new, and served as a trial run to the main event: Peppermint Bark. Maybe I should rename this, Type A Bark?

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of crushed Snickers

• 1 cup of crushed Twix

• 1 cup of M&M’s, reserving 1/4 cup for sprinkling on the top

• 20 oz of dark chocolate

• 20 oz of white chocolate

• kosher salt for sprinkling at the end

Supplies (besides: pots/pans/and the like):

• two cooking thermometers

• make an ice bath in your kitchen sink, with no more that 2-3 inches of water

  Method:

1. Set up two double boilers, with the water temperature set to simmering.

2. Pour 2/3 of your dark chocolate into one double boiler, stirring constantly until chocolate is melted and registers 118 degrees on a thermometer.

3. Immediately take off the heat, pour in the remaining dark chocolate, and stir until melted.

4. Place into ice bath, stirring continuously, until dark chocolate registers 78 degrees. Make sure no water comes into contact with chocolate!!

5. Once dark chocolate registers 78 degrees, place back on double boiler until it reaches 87 degrees. Stirring until temperature is reached. Leave on double boiler to maintain 87 degree temperature while you start tempering the white chocolate.

6. In another double boiler, pour in 2/3 of your white chocolate, stirring until it reaches 115 degrees.

7. Take off heat immediately, and stir in remaining 1/3 of white chocolate, until melted.

8. Place white chocolate into ice bath, and stir until the thermometer registers 78 degrees. Make sure no water comes into contact with chocolate!!

9. Place white chocolate back on double boiler, and stir until it reaches 87 degrees.

10. On a small piece of parchment paper, take a small spoonful of each chocolate and place a drop of each on top of the paper.

11. Once the chocolate dries (should take 5-7 minutes), if it is tempered it will be shiny, and snap when broken. Picture below for reference!

12. On a parchment lined baking sheet, coated with nonstick spray, pour both your dark and white chocolate, and with a knife or offset spatula, create whatever design you fancy. Picture for reference below! If you just want a chocolate bark, you can stop here and freeze for 3-4 hours or overnight to set up. Break into pieces.

13. If you prefer to take it a step further, mix in the crushed Twix, Snickers, and M&Ms, until combined with chocolate.

14. Top with remaining 1/4 cup of M&Ms and sprinkle with a pinch of kosher salt.

15. Place into the freezer to harden for 3-4 hours or overnight.

16. Break into pieces for serving.