Graham Cracker Bark
with pistachios & dark chocolate, plus three savory holiday party snacks
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This Note made me chuckle:
I helped facilitate a cookie exchange with my professional women’s group last weekend, and one glance at my calendar told me I wouldn’t have time to mix, chill, and roll anything elaborate. I’m also in full fridge-and-pantry clean-out mode ahead of a few upcoming weeks away.
While every media brand rolls out its Cookie Week, I’m sharing a holiday treat that’s not quite a cookie and not quite a candy. My family called them “Tea Bars” but I’ve rebranded them to Graham Cracker Bark. It is, as the memes love to poke fun, a family recipe passed down from my father’s sister’s husband’s mother’s side of the family, where it’s been served at nearly every family reunion for the past 50-plus years.
What I love about this recipe is the texture. You pour a hot butter-and-brown-sugar “caramel” over graham crackers, transforming them into something cookie-like and crisp, yet somehow not too sweet. Instead of Toll House chips (no shade), I used Compartés baking chocolate chips the brand kindly sent me earlier this season. I love the slightly bitter flavor of the higher cacao percentage, but use what you like. The original recipe calls for walnuts, but I swapped in pistachios, a more festive nut, in my opinion, and one that adds a little more color. Flaky salt on top, of course.
In case you missed it:
Graham Cracker Bark
Yield: about 40-50 (3”) pieces
Ingredients:
2 sleeves (18 full sheets) graham crackers
1 cup (8 ounces, 2 sticks) unsalted butter
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup coarsely chopped roasted pistachios
3/4 cup (about 6 ounces) dark chocolate chips
Flaky sea salt
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Line a large rimmed sheet tray with foil, extending it a few inches up the sides. Arrange graham crackers on sheet tray in 1 layer.
In a medium saucepan, add butter and brown sugar. Bring to a rolling boil over medium-high heat. Remove from heat and stir in nuts.
Immediately (and quickly) spoon the nut mixture over the graham crackers. Use a small offset spatula or silicone spatula to spread the mixture into one layer. It won’t be perfect and that’s OK. Sprinkle chocolate chips on top.
Bake for 8 to 10 minutes until brown sugar mixture is bubbly and chocolate is melted. Timing will depend on the type of chocolate you use, but you’re just looking to melt the chips. Remove from oven and let cool completely, sprinkling with flaky sea salt when chocolate is almost set (so it doesn’t dissolve but still sticks.)
Use your hands to break into 3-inch pieces, or with a knife to create more precise cuts. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.
A Note on Nuts
For more flavor, use toasted nuts. Look for dry-roasted nuts or purchase raw nuts & toast them yourself at home in the oven or a skillet for the freshest flavor. Nuts spoil easily. Store them in an airtight container in the fridge or freezer. When I’m not buying them in bulk, I go for Trader Joe’s nuts. They do a brisk nut business (lol), which means theirs are typically quite fresh.
Swaps:
Butter: for even more sweet-and-salty flavor, use salted butter
Brown sugar: dark brown sugar will add a deeper flavor
Nuts: swap in toasted walnuts, hazelnuts, almonds or even peanuts. For a nut-free version, try toasted, shelled pumpkin seeds.
Dark chocolate chips: semi-sweet chips or féves or finely chopped chocolate (from bars)
Was just thinking I needed something similar for a gathering, these look so easy!
This will be perfect while I’m in high altitude over the holidays (baking is quite a challenge at 10,000 ft!).