About six months ago I fell in love with pistachios.
I was eating so many that my thumb got a blister on it from shelling so many.
Note to self, buy the unshelled. But that seems like cheating.
Unless you dump the pistachios onto melted dark chocolate along with caramels, Oreos, and sea salt.
I love making bark because it’s fast, easy, foolproof, and you can use up your odds and ends.
Anything from the last bits in a bag of pretzels to the remnants of the butterscotch chips to random Easter candy you found stashed away. Everything tastes better smorgasboard-style on top of bark.
For the bark I used lightly salted pistachios, diced caramels, Oreos, and a sprinkling of sea salt for a salty-and-sweet effect.
I love salty-and-sweet treats and I find that with dark chocolate, a pinch of salt goes a long way to enhance and round out the flavor.
The chocolate is Trader Joe’s Dark Chocolate Pound Plus Bar. It melts so smoothly, evenly, and it’s dark enough without being bitter or too intense. It makes for a smooth, mellow, bark-eating experience. Use your favorite chocolate from uber dark to milk.
The bark is a texture lover’s dream. The smooth, rich chocolate that melts in your mouth contrasted with the slightly salty pistachios and crunchy Oreos.
The caramels are buttery, creamy, and chewy. There are so many flavor and texture combinations in every bite and the more you eat, the more you want.
I gave some of the bark away because it was far too dangerous to keep in my house.
It makes great hostess gifts or gifts for friends, teachers, and neighbors. If you can manage to part with some or don’t eat it all first.
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Pistachio, Salted Caramel, and Oreo Dark Chocolate Bark
Ingredients
- 16 ounces dark chocolate, 1 pound; I used TJ’s Dark Chocolate Pound Plus Barabout 20 small caramel squares, unwrapped and diced small (if you can find salted caramels I recommend them, but regular may be used)6 to 8 Oreo cookies, roughly chopped about 3/4 cup shelled, lightly salted pistachios (unsalted may be substituted)
- generous pinch of sea salt for sprinkling, optional and 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.
- 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 it 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. Reserve 1 to 2 tablespoons in the bottom of the bowl for final chocolate drizzle; set aside.
- Evenly sprinkle with caramels, Oreos, pistachios, and sea salt to taste.
- Evenly drizzle with reserved 1 to 2 tablespoons chocolate; optional but helps ‘glue’ the toppings down and adds visual appeal.
- Allow chocolate to set up for at least 3 hours 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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Whoa. This looks seriously awesome! This reminded me that I have some pistachios sitting around left over from another baking project, PLUS I have some caramels, so this is *definitely* happening!! Yum!
Oh wow, love a good pantry cleanout session! Have fun :)
I love the lighting in these photos, Averie! Ugh yes pistachios can be such a pain to shell sometimes but they are totally worth it. And this bark looks amazing, I love how easy it is to make and feels totally gourmet!
I love how easy it is to make and feels totally gourmet! = YES That is exactly what I wanted to say but didn’t say quite so succinctly!
And the lighting, you know, it’s so hit and miss in my shooting area and sometimes the sun will go behind a cloud or not, and just the total nuances can really effect the images I get. Thanks for the compliments on these!
I’m drooling. Seriously. This is pure salty and sweet heaven! I recently fell in love with pistachios too and I cannot buy them or I’ll eat all of them! Pinned!
I just told another commenter that I have to try to NOT eat them all and forget about them in the cupboard because they’re dangerous for me, too. Like a cup at a time, no biggie :)
This is one delicious-looking chocolate bark! I love the pop of color from the pistachios. :)
Part of the fun of pistachios is the shelling! I love how they add a salty crunch to this bark. Plus, they give a pretty pop of green!
Haha, the blisters! That is a sure sign of a pistachio lover. At least there will be no evidence from eating an entire batch of this … except maybe some chocolate on the mouth ;) Salted caramel, Oreos, and pistachios – does it get any better? Love this combo Averie!
Pistachio blisters…ahh, sounds like you may be able to relate :) But worth it!
My sister and I made your cowboy bark (she is obsessed with bark recipes) and LOVED it. This is next to try, and everything I love is in this one! Pinned :)
Thanks for trying the Cowboy Bark with your sister and for LMK you loved it! And thanks for pinning!
Is there a support group for our blistered thumbs? I love pistachios because it takes so long to eat them, it’s built-in portion control. Yet, I still eat the entire bag…
Love this bark! Pinned!
I know, right! Built-in portion control, kind of. Unless you just get faster at it and eat the whole bag in no time like I can do :) Thanks for pinning!
I’m a huge pistachio fan, too! But I buy them unshelled – they always chip my nail polish lol! This bark is gorgeous!!! And your photos are swoonworthy :)
Thanks for the photo compliments and buying them ready to eat as to not ding your nail polish, girl, very smart thinking and love your priorities :)
OH how I wish I was on your too much to keep in the house distribution list!!! This bark looks so good. I love to store bark in the fridge so it keeps that snap. Pistachios are so good I love to mix them with craisins and snack away.
Another person just told me about a holiday cranberry/pistachio bark she makes. Sounds delish! And I wish you were on my distribution list, too. God I give away so much food – I have to! Although my daughter really loved this bark and I kept a stash for her in the freezer :)
Looks delicious. My kids would go crazy over this because I don’t buy pistachios very often. The cost is well much higher than some of the other nuts. So of course it’s a huge treat. This would be like a double bonus!
Have a beautiful Monday!
They are definitely pricier than other nuts so yes, when you have them, they’re appreciated even more, totally agree!
This bark looks amazing, Averie! I love the addition of pistachios and oreos. Looks delicious and easy to whip up!
Super easy, yes! That’s the beauty, right :)
I am obsessed with pistachios and dark chocolate, so I obviously would LOVE this bark! It looks soooo, soooo good :)
I REALLY cheat with pistachios because I buy a huge bag from Costco and keep then in the freezer. I think I would go buy caramels and ores just to make this! I love all your bark recipes–so much going on and multiple cravings satisfied. And–no baking( just patiently waiting for it to set). Pinned!!
Thanks for pinning and love your Costco/freezer idea. TJ’s does sell them unshelled (which is what I used for the bark). But I think the shells slow down the rate of rapid fire consumption for me :)
This just sounds so amazing!!
I TOTALLY feel you on the pistachio thumb blister – I really need to find some shelled pistachios as I love them too!
You are the bark queen Averie! Oreos, caramel, pistachios AND chocolate? I died. Pinned!
I almost didn’t admit that but glad I did b/c you did the same thing it sounds like. Okay I don’t feel quite so odd now. LOL Thanks for pinning :)