One of my favorite parts about Easter (other than the obvious religious parts of it) is Easter candy. And Easter egg hunts, but that’s a totally different post. I love all of the different varieties of candy eggs, marshmallows, little bunnies, and of course Peeps. While I may not personally love Peeps, I do think they’re really fun and a nice addition to the holiday. I even made an Easter candy bingo game that uses all my favorite sweets! And I love all of the cute Easter treats you can make with Easter candy! This Easter bark is the first of a number of new Easter recipes I’ll be sharing this year and I probably should have saved it for last because it’s a great way to use up leftover Easter candy. But it’s so yummy, I had to share it sooner than later so you can enjoy it now! This bark isn’t your typical chocolate bark – it tastes a bit more like s’mores bars turned into Easter bark.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Easy – this couldn’t be much easier to make! Versatile – while the three main layers of the bark need to stay the same, you can really top it with whatever Easter candy you prefer! Festive – the colors, candies, and just overall bright look of this bark make it taste even better (really!). Serve it up for Easter brunch, give it away for Easter favors, or just eat it all yourself!
Ingredients
Ingredient Notes
Graham crackers – you’ll need either 12 full size graham crackers or 24 graham cracker squares. I just used regular graham crackers but honey ones would work as well. Marshmallows – you can use either 40 large marshmallows (just the regular ones, not jumbo size) or one bag of mini marshmallows. If you want to get really fun with the colors, you could also use colored marshmallows. Butter – you’ll want to use unsalted butter for this recipe so that you don’t end up a random salty flavor mixed into the sweet! Baking chocolate – I used 8 oz of semi-sweet chocolate broken into squares before melting but you could also use milk chocolate or dark chocolate depending on your chocolate preference. If you don’t have baking chocolate, you could also use milk chocolate, but I recommend adding 1/4 tsp of either vegetable or coconut oil so it pours smoother. Easter candies – I’ve included a handful of candies that we put on our bark – Peeps, jelly beans, chocolate eggs, mini Cadbury eggs (used leftovers from this Easter egg cheesecake), and spring Sweetarts. Those just happened to be the things I had on hand – feel free to use any of your favorites! Sprinkles – Easter colored sprinkles add a nice color and crunch to this Easter chocolate bark! I recommend using jimmies or non-pareils and skipping out on the really big sprinkles that don’t bite into very well.
How to Make Easter Bark
There’s not a lot to this recipe but it only works if you follow the instructions! I’ve included instructions as well as a few of my tips and tricks so get something yummy in the end!
First you’ll need to line a 9.5″ X 13″ cookie sheet with parchment paper. If you don’t have a baking sheet that size, you can always half this recipe and make a smaller batch as well. Or just put the graham crackers on a bigger cookie sheet and keep the toppings to the graham crackers.
Once the baking sheet is lined with parchment paper, place the graham crackers in a single layer on the parchment paper. It’s okay to trim the graham crackers to make them all fit flat.
Next, put the marshmallows in a large, microwave-safe bowl then pour the melted butter over them. Stir to coat the marshmallows in the butter then microwave for 30 seconds, then stir. Repeat heating and stirring in 30 second intervals until marshmallows are completely melted.
Alternately, you can combine the butter and marshmallows over low on the stove just like you would for these chocolate dipped rice krispie treats. Just keep the temperate on low and stir regularly until the marshmallow is completely melted.
Pour the melted marshmallow mixture over top of the graham crackers, then spray a spatula with non-stick cooking spray and use it to spread the melted marshmallows evenly over the graham crackers.
You want to ideally cover all of the graham crackers but if there’s not quite enough marshmallow, get it as close to the edges as possible.
Now melt the chocolate in the microwave, stirring every 30 seconds, until it is melted and smooth.
Again, you could do this on the stove using the double boiler method if that’s easier for you! J
Pour the melted chocolate evenly over the marshmallow layer and spread out evenly with a spatula.
While the chocolate is still melted, press candies gently into the melted chocolate.
I recommend trying to evenly distribute the candies as much as possible so you have jelly beans throughout the chocolate bark, chocolate eggs throughout the chocolate bark, and so on.
After you’ve added the candies, put the pan in the refrigerator to chill for 30 minutes, or until the chocolate is hard. You can leave it harder if you’d like but make sure to let it chill for at least 30 minutes so the chocolate is hard before you break the bark.
Once the chocolate is hard, remove the pan from the refrigerator and use a sharp knife that has been coated in non-stick cooking spray to cut the bark into serving size pieces.
You can also just pull the chocolate bark apart, but you won’t get as smooth of edges this way, so I recommend using a sharp knife for clean cuts.
Serve chilled or at room temperature in pieces. This would also make a really good Easter gift or favor – just add these sweet gift tags to a bag of bark!
Expert Tips
Store at room temperature for up to one week in an airtight container. If it’s warm inside, keep refrigerated so the chocolate doesn’t melt. Make sure to use non-stick cooking spray on the spatula and your hands when dealing with the melted marshmallow. It can get really sticky and you don’t want it to pull up the graham crackers when stuck to your hands. Mix it up! Try this same graham cracker bark base with other holidays and candies.
More Easy Easter Recipes
If you’re looking for more delicious Easter food, you’re in luck! Try out these recipes that both kids and adults will love!
Layered carrot cake – this delicious carrot cake with its cinnamon cream cheese frosting is the perfect Easter dessert! Cadbury egg cheesecake – the cutest mini egg cheesecakes, perfect for an Easter brunch! Strawberry fluff salad – a creamy and delicious fruit salad that makes a great side dish addition to any Easter menu! Homemade yeast rolls – you can’t have an Easter meal without rolls and these are the easiest and best! Honey roasted carrots – carrots roasted with honey to give them a sweet caramelized finish!
