Have you tried Cowboy Bark?
If you haven’t, don’t even start. It’s so addictively good.
Which is why I’m not sure why I made my own bark that’s every bit as good as the real deal.
Having the ability to make bulk quantities is dangerous since I can down a bag of the Trader Joe’s version in a day if I let myself. Six servings in one little 9-ounce bag? No way.
Now I have an endless supply in my cupboard, and I stashed some in the freezer, and I gave plenty away.
The bark only takes about 5 minutes to make, making it the perfect fast, easy, and extremely satisfying treat.
It’s just melted chocolate, topped with a mixture of toffee bits, peanuts, almonds, pretzels, Oreos, and a sprinkling of sea salt.
Sounds simple enough, but there’s something about the combination that’s just irresistible. Salty-and-sweet treats can do no wrong.
And the bark is a texture lover’s dream. The smooth, rich chocolate that melts in your mouth is in contrast with crunchy and salty peanuts and almonds and crispy pretzels. The sweet buttery toffee bits and crunchy Oreos provides so many flavor combinations in every bite. The more you eat, the more you want.
For the chocolate, I used a mixture of Trader Joe’s chocolate bars. I used equal parts of the 72% Pound Plus, Dark Chocolate, and Milk Chocolate bars. I have a well-stocked pantry of chocolate and can manifest bulk quantities of chocolate in any percentage from 60 to 90% at the drop of a hat.
For authenticity, if you’re only using one chocolate, I’d use TJ’s Dark Chocolate bar or your favorite dark chocolate. Definitely not milk, and don’t go too dark so that it’s bitter. A nice, middle of the road dark chocolate is best.
For the toppings, if you don’t have all of them on hand, mix and match based on what you do have.
I went a little heavier-handed than the Trader does with the quantity of nuts, pretzels, and toffee bits. The more, the merrier.
For the cookies, use Chocolate Jo-Jo’s or chocolate-filled Oreos for maximum authenticity, but traditional Oreos are fine. It’s cookies for candy-making. There are no wrong choices.
The batch makes about 4 times what you’d get in one $3.69 9-ounce bag. For me, it’s definitely cheaper to make than to buy because I already have all those things on hand.
You’ve been warned. This stuff is crazy good.
Best use of 5 minutes ever.
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Cowboy Bark: Trader Joe's Copycat Recipe
Ingredients
- 16 ounces dark chocolate, 1 pound; I used equal parts TJ’s 72% Pound Plus, Dark Chocolate, and Milk Chocolate Bars; if only using one, select a favorite dark chocolate
- about 1 1/2 cups mini pretzels
- 8 chocolate-stuffed Oreos, roughly chopped (or use TJ’s Chocolate Jo-Jo’s; regular Oreos may be substituted)
- ⅓ cup toffee bits
- ⅓ cup coarsely chopped peanuts, I used roasted lightly salted
- ⅓ cup coarsely chopped almonds, I used roasted lightly salted
- sea salt for sprinkling, to taste
Instructions
- Line a baking tray with parchment paper; set aside. Before beginning to melt the chocolate, have all the ingredients chopped, prepped, and ready to go so that they’re ready to be added while the chocolate is hot and melty. I use my Mini-Prep Plus Food Processor to grind the nuts in seconds rather than hand-chopping, but I hand-chop the cookies.
- Coarsely chop the chocolate or break into chunks to encourage smooth melting.
- Place chocolate in a large microwave-safe bowl. Heat on high power to melt, about 2 to 3 minutes, stopping every 15 seconds to check and stir until mixture can be stirred smooth. Be careful not to scorch it; or use a double boiler.
- Pour melted chocolate onto parchment and with a spatula or offset knife, smooth into a large rectangle, about 10×15-inches, and about 1/8-inch thick; just eyeball.
- Evenly sprinkle with pretzels, Oreos, toffee bits, peanuts, almonds, and sea salt to taste.
- Allow chocolate to set up for at least 1 hour at room temp, or in the freezer for about 30 minutes.
- After chocolate has set, break into pieces or chop with a knife. Bark will keep airtight at room temp for many weeks and in the fridge or freezer for many months.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Oh My Goodness—–I LOVE all things sweet and salty.
I pressed printer friendly…31 pages later..seriously!!
There is the word PRINT in the recipe card section of the blog post, a gray box with white PRINT. If you click that, it will only print 1 page.
For those that have issues with their goodies falling off, I added additional chocolate drizzled on top of prior to finish to ‘glue’ some of them down :-) Didn’t control ALL the fall off but certainly helped . Just an idea.
And if you look at the bottom of the bag of Trader Joe’s bark, there’s plenty of goodies at the bottom of those bags. Just unavoidable in total, but the extra choc drizzle does help!
This is awesome! I just made your recipe and it was super easy and I think just as good as Trader Joe’s.
Thank you so much!
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad it came out great for you! And just as good as TJ’s!
Food from heaven :))) loooove this!
I’ve made this 4 different times. The first two times I use chocolate chips. The resulting Bark was flimsy as you mentioned, which was okay since it’s cold here in the Midwest, but I wanted the “true” firm bark so I used Trader Joe’s 1 pound wr of dark chocolate. I followed the recipe like I did with the others but this time all of the topping came off except for the little pieces of Oreo crumbs and nut dust. I even lightly pressed the topping into the melted chocolate to insure that all the pieces were secure. What did I do wrong this time? Thanks Averie! I love your blog and pin almost everything you post!
Thanks for all your support and for pinning almost all my posts! :)
As for this bark…hmmmm. I think it’s better to use chocolate like you did in brick-form like the TJs Pound Plus Bars. I assume that’s what you used. As for why the topping wasn’t adhering as well, I don’t know! I will say that chocolate isn’t superglue and that some of mine fall of too. For the photos it looks neat and pretty but in reality, some pieces do end up a little bare so I just deal with that. Maybe push down a little harder/deeper next time? Keep me posted!
Hi Averie! Great post, I love the idea of using pretzels! Will definitely try this. I’ve been doing it with roasted almonds, crushed peppermint candy canes, dried cranberries, soft caramel chunks, ect. Sooo good. Luckily I live in Switzerlad so it is easy to find some good and cheap dark chocolate to work with. I always add 1 teaspoon of coconut oil when I melt the chocolate, it makes the chocolate even more creamy and just melts in your mouth. Have you tried this? If not, I definitely recommend you to give it a try (chocolate needs to be stored in the fridge).
Happy Holidays to everyone! :)
Coconut oil is great in certain situations but in this bark I wanted it FIRM and by adding coconut oil, as you noted, it won’t be as firm and needs refrigeration or it will get soft. Just want to point that out for others reading this.
But I’m a huge coconut oil person – I bake with it all the time!
I was thinking of using mini Oreos, they are not chocolate filled but I think it would look nice if not to thick.
I have made this twice now and both times I used Nestle Toll House, Dark Chocolate morsels and some semi-sweet chips. I’m not sure if that’s the issue, but my bark never hardens. It stays at a pliable consistency. If I put it in the freezer, it hardens and is what I expect, but once at room temp, it goes back to a flimsy texture. Any thoughts on what I am doing wrong?
YES that is your issue. That’s what happens when you use chocolate chips, not chocolate in a brick that you can melt down. Try Baker’s brand, Trader Joe’s brand, or another…but DON’T use choc chips! That’s the issue, bingo!
Do you know what size baking sheet you used for this?
Never mind, I see the rectangle size that you listed.
what type of toffee bits do you use?
Heath bits.
Oh Ehm Gee!! I just tried TJ’s version and I snarfed the entire bag in one sitting!! My only complaint is that almost all of the texture fell off the bark to the bottom of the bag! I will definitely be making this version and hopefully most if not all of the texture will stay on long enough to enjoy it!
Some bags of theirs I’ve found are pretty beat up and half the toppings are on the bottom – such a shame! I think with homemade, it’s virtually impossible to beat these up to the point you’ll lose nearly any toppings!
would like to include your cowboy bark recipe on my blog along with one of your pictures and reference your blog with a link if you don’t mind? I would use my own picture but truthfully I ate all of mine before I took a picture (c;
This recipe, by the way is to die for….
what would be a good middle of the road dark chocolate, not too bitter? No TJs here either.
Just use your favorite dark chocolate candy bar to eat. Something you enjoy eating on it’s own – that’s what the overall flavor of the bark is going to be so pick your favorite.
There’s a rumor that Trader Joes may be coming to our town. I can hope for that, but in the meantime I think I’ll like your recipe even more!
Oh wow, your life will be changing if they do :)
I’ve had more than one bag of this stuff from TJ’s…can’t wait to try yours, thank you!! (Yes, it is SO addictive- I have to hide it from myself!)
I have to hide the real thing, and the DIY version, from myself too – I can relate :)