This dark chocolate pomegranate bark with sliced almonds is perfect for a homemade holiday gift or treat.
I know what you’re thinking…
“Pomegranate?? Didn’t she just talk about how they weren’t worth the effort in those pomegranate chocolate chip pancakes?”
I know! I KNOW. I did.
And, I lied.
Well, not really lied. They totally aren’t worth the effort in my mind BUT, you see, when I made these pomegranate orange scones I also happened to buy 2 more pomegranates.
Why?
Well for pictures.
Obviously.
So then I was stuck with 2 of these so ridiculously hard to open pain in my ass fruits.
I gave one to my mom this weekend but then there was still the matter of this other one.
Looking all pathetic in the fruit bowl and getting kind of old and wrinkly. S
o, I manned up and spent 20 minutes picking out arils.
I at least remembered to wear a black shirt this time.
Want to know the only thing this “recipe”requires?
Patience.
Not my biggest strength.
You want the arils to be really dry so the chocolate sticks to them better.
Since I used the water technique to get them out though, this meant waiting 2 hours for arils to dry off.
I’m not gonna lie and say I didn’t contemplate bringing my hair dryer down to the kitchen but visions of arils flying all over stopped me before that became a reality thankfully.
Then you have to wait for the chocolate to firm up. Another 30 minutes at least.
SO MUCH WAITING!
Lucky for me, Ginger thought she’d occupy my time by coming back inside with some unidentified animal’s fecal matter all over her neck.
She’s so considerate, that one.
I made pomegranate chocolate bark and tested out a pomegranate chocolate “cluster” as well.
I’m thinking about including this in some homemade Christmas gifts so I wanted to see which version worked better.
The verdict? The clusters were way less messy, but I like the look of the bark better. Both tasted equally as good.
So let’s talk about this combo.
Holiday bark is all over the place right?
Personally, I hate white chocolate. It’s not chocolate to begin with, it’s just sugar laden, super sweet, creamy nastiness in my opinion and most holiday bark seems to use it.
Which as a side note, unless you’re talking about a birch tree, no actual tree bark is white!
Moving on… So, dark chocolate was a given.
I thought about dried fruit like cherries or strawberries but I’m a much bigger fan of contrasting flavors then sweet on sweet which is what dried fruit + chocolate would give you.
The one redeeming factor of pomegranate seeds is that burst of tartness they give and in this bark combination it is absolutely amazing.
You bite into the rich dark chocolate and the tart arils explode in your mouth (it totally reminded me of Gushers from back in the day) and then you have the sliced almonds for some crunch.
It’s a similar texture experience in this pomegranate popcorn mix!
Texture & flavor heaven, pure and simple. Too bad it’s still too far out from Christmas to use these as gifts, I’ll just have to eat them and make another batch closer to the date.
How unfortunate.
Are you making any homemade gifts this year?
In addition to this pomegranate bark, I’m thinking of some nut-free granola and maybe candied bacon nut brittle too!
Pomegranate Almond Bark
Ingredients
- 1 cup dark chocolate chips
- 1 cup dry pomegranate arils
- 1/4 cup sliced almonds
Instructions
For the Bark
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Melt chocolate chips in a small bowl in the microwave until completely melted and smooth.
- Fold half the pomegranate arils into the chocolate.
- Spread chocolate/pomegranate mixture evenly onto the baking sheet.
- Sprinkle remaining pomegranate arils and all of the almonds on top lightly pushing down into the chocolate layer with a spatula.
- Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes until chocolate has set completely.
- Once set, remove from refrigerator and break into pieces.
For the Clusters
- Line a mini muffin tin with paper cups
- Melt chocolate chips in a small bowl in microwave until smooth and completely melted, fold in half the pomegranate arils.
- Spoon a teaspoon of the chocolate pomegranate mixture into a tin. Next sprinkle some more pomegranate arils on top. Then layer some sliced almonds. Repeat this layering method 3 or 4 times until the paper cup is almost full.
- Once muffin tins are full, refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or until fully set.
- Removed from refrigerator and peel away paper lining.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Gina Matsoukas is an AP syndicated writer. She is the founder, photographer and recipe developer of Running to the Kitchen — a food website focused on providing healthy, wholesome recipes using fresh and seasonal ingredients. Her work has been featured in numerous media outlets both digital and print, including MSN, Huffington post, Buzzfeed, Women’s Health and Food Network.
I came across your blog early in November. I am so glad I did! I love your recipes. Today I completed recipe my 3rd and 4th recipes from your website. I loved everyone and gotten great feedback. I have tried making “healthy” baked goods in the past. They often came out dry with no taste. Your recipes taste amazing!
Thanks so much Lisa! I’m glad you’ve liked everything you’ve tried out so far :)
You totally sold me when you compared them to Gushers. I loved those when I was a kid, and my mom refused to buy them because they were bad for our teeth. Whatever, I just loaded up on them at friends’ houses. ;)
Can’t wait to make this.. Love chocolate barks. I’ll probably get the pomegranate seeds from Trader Joe’s–already out of the fruit :-)… thanks
I love chocolate bark – and I do love pomegranate even though they are a pain. This looks really nice and these are some great photos
These look great! I’m too lazy for homemade gifts ;)
AMAZING! I have 2x poms in the fridge as we speak and what a great way to use them! Thanks for this awesome recipe and I’ll let you know how it turns out! Have a wonderful Tuesday…
Hey Gina,
TJ’s sells little cartons of the arils. no waiting and black shirt needed!
these look lovely!
These could easily be frozen or refrigerated and then used in gifts….but then you couldnt eat them :(
your bark looks great! I just posted my own version of bark…and it was literally melting before my very eyes.
I look at your smooth, non-melty photos and have to say…jealous! And saw your noodles yesterday on all the food sites. It wasn’t my day. My food pics are a lil too melty the past week or two :)
oooo this is awesome! how different & interesting! smart idea, Gina!