Black and White Holiday Bark

Halloween fell on Saturday and the week had the particular tautness of something approaching that you could not prepare for any further. The election was Tuesday November 3rd. I was not sleeping particularly well. I was studying effectively because studying was a thing I could control and I kept doing things I could control when everything larger felt out of my hands. This is a coping mechanism I have used since I was young. It works. I do not need to stop doing things that work.

I made Halloween cookies for the friend group — Tanya, Marcus, Naomi, Destiny — individually bagged and dropped on their porches because in-person gatherings were still limited. My orange-and-black king cake cookies, which had become a tradition, plus some new additions: chocolate cookies shaped like spiders that I had made with my new cookie cutters, decorated with royal icing I had been practicing since September. Tanya texted a photo of hers with the caption "you are an artist." I said I was a scientist who bakes. She said those were not mutually exclusive. I said I know. She knows I know.

At home on Halloween evening we watched horror movies — a Robinson family tradition that Daddy takes very seriously, a ranked list of films that he defends each year as if his life depended on it. We ate the frozen gumbo I had made two weeks before, reheated perfectly, the flavor having deepened in the freezer the way gumbo does when it has time. Mama said it tasted better than it had when fresh. I said time was an ingredient. She said I was going to put that in a book someday. I said I was working on it. She said she knew.

The spider cookies and king cake cookies were made for other people — carefully decorated, individually bagged, delivered with intention. The bark was for me. When the week felt too large and Tuesday loomed and the freezer already held the gumbo and there was nothing left to prepare, I needed one more thing to do with my hands, something with clean contrasts and a short ingredient list and a result I could predict. Black and white, simple, done.

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 10 min | Total Time: 25 min + 1 hr chilling | Servings: 16

Ingredients

12 oz good-quality dark or semi-sweet chocolate chips
12 oz white chocolate chips
1 teaspoon coconut oil, divided
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon flaky sea salt
Optional toppings: crushed candy canes, Halloween sprinkles, mini nonpareils, or edible glitter

Instructions

Prepare your pan. Line a large rimmed baking sheet (approximately 10×15 inches) with parchment paper, smoothing out any wrinkles so the bark sets flat.
Melt the dark chocolate. Combine dark chocolate chips and 1/2 teaspoon coconut oil in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave in 30-second intervals, stirring between each, until fully melted and smooth, about 2 minutes total. Stir in vanilla extract.
Spread the dark chocolate layer. Pour the melted dark chocolate onto the prepared pan and spread into an even layer using an offset spatula, leaving about a 1-inch border. The layer should be approximately 1/4-inch thick.
Melt the white chocolate. In a separate bowl, melt white chocolate chips with the remaining 1/2 teaspoon coconut oil using the same microwave method, stirring until smooth.
Create the swirl. Drop spoonfuls of white chocolate over the dark chocolate layer. Using a skewer or toothpick, swirl the two chocolates together with long, looping strokes to create a marble effect. Work quickly before either layer sets.
Add toppings. Immediately scatter your chosen toppings evenly over the surface. Finish with a pinch of flaky sea salt.
Chill until firm. Transfer the pan to the refrigerator and chill for at least 1 hour, or until the bark is completely set and snaps cleanly when pressed.
Break and serve. Lift the parchment off the pan and break the bark into irregular pieces by hand. Store in an airtight container at cool room temperature or in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.

Nutrition (per serving)

Black and White Holiday Bark — When Baking Is the One Thing You Can Control