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.

Pomegranate Almond Bark

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.

Pomegranate Almond Bark

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.

Pomegranate Almond Bark

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.

Pomegranate Bark

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.

Pomegranate Bark with Almonds

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!

Pomegranate Chocolate Clusters

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!

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Pomegranate Almond Bark

Servings: 20 servings
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 30 minutes
Total: 40 minutes
This dark chocolate pomegranate bark with sliced almonds is perfect for a homemade holiday gift or treat.

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

Serving: 1SERVINGCalories: 65kcalCarbohydrates: 8gProtein: 1gFat: 4gSaturated Fat: 3gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.2gMonounsaturated Fat: 0.4gCholesterol: 0.1mgSodium: 10mgPotassium: 93mgFiber: 1gSugar: 5gVitamin A: 1IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 32mgIron: 0.2mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
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Founder and Writer at Running to the Kitchen | About

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.

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23 Comments

  1. I made these two days ago, and they are delicious! I want to bring them to a party, but I find they start melting the minute you put them on the counter. Then they melt all over your hands. I know there are ways to make chocolate less melty, but for this batch I guess my husband and I will just have to eat them all!

  2. These look great! I’m putting them on my list in case I can find some pomegranates that aren’t priced like 24-karat gold. Kate, I completely understand your comment. I ate some waffles with orange extract in them the day I got the worst food poisoning of my life – and now I feel sick at the mere smell of orange extract. But pomegranates…yum!

  3. I’m not even a fan of pomegranate and I think these look good! I actually used to love pomegranate until I ate it the same night I got food poisoning… ugh :(

  4. These are absolutely beautiful! I think they’re well worth the effort. I, on the other hand, can’t get off the couch and stop reading blogs long enough to ice these cookies I’ve been needing to….

  5. Those look amazing, Gina!!! I have no idea why people find pomegranates to be a pain – it’s the PROCESSSSS not just the food reward :) Although, to be fair, any time that I visit my mom, she cleans them up for me and leaves me all the yummy seeds (idk what they’re really called, and yes I saw you say it above but I am too lazy to scroll up) in a bowl that I then eat with a spoon. The whole bowl. hours of her work and about 10 minute for me to shovel them in my mouth.

    Side note, I had to correct the typo that is pomegranate.

  6. I love pomegranates! If you peel them underwater they’re not so bad. This bark sounds fantastic Gina!

  7. You have way more patience than I do! Why can’t they sell pomegranate seeds in the store. They do it with sunflower seeds!