White Chocolate Cranberry Bark Recipe

Name: White Chocolate Cranberry Bark
Prep time: 10 min
Total time: 100 min
Ingredients: 1 tablespoon butter (, melted); 24 ounces white chocolate chips (, (2 bags)); 1 1/2 cups walnuts (, halved); 1 cup dried cranberries (, chopped); 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

White Chocolate Cranberry Bark is a sweet holiday treat filled with crunchy walnuts and tart cranberries that you can make in about 10 minutes!

Recipes like Peppermint Bark and White Chocolate Cranberry Bark are quick and easy treats to make for the ones you love this holiday season. People like to say “Happy Holidays” through made-with-love treats. Head over to these Cookie and Candy Recipes for more holiday inspiration.

White Chocolate Cranberry Bark shards on countertop

Nothing says “it’s the holidays” like a baking sheet full of White Chocolate Cranberry Bark ready to break up and bite into. The best thing about White Chocolate Cranberry Bark is that it’s a no-bake dessert. You can make it with the whole family as a quick weekend project. All you need to make White Chocolate Cranberry Bark is a cookie sheet, a microwave-safe bowl, and a microwave. This makes the clean-up for this holiday treat extremely quick and easy.

This is an incredibly easy recipe, and it only takes about an hour and a half, including chilling time. Once you’ve made everything for this white chocolate bark recipe, you just have to put the cookie sheet in the fridge until the melted white chocolate is firm. This doesn’t take very long. However, you can leave them in the fridge overnight to make them very solid. Once they’ve firmed up, break them into pieces with your hands. You can also cover it with a layer of aluminum foil and use a meat tenderizer to break it into shards. Depending on the look you’re going for with your Candy Bark gifts, you could also cut the bark into strips while it’s firm but still tacky.

How to Make White Chocolate Cranberry Bark

Prepare the Pan: To begin, line a 15x10x1-inch baking pan with foil. Next brush the pan with butter so your White Chocolate Bark won’t stick.

Melt the Chocolate: Place the white chocolate chips in a bowl large enough to easily stir them, along with all the mix-ins. Microwave the white chocolate chips on high until melted, then stir until smooth. You can check on the chips while they melt. Open the microwave after a minute or so. Dip your spoon in to check if the chips are ready to be stirred. Microwave for another 30 seconds and repeat as long as needed.

Mix-Ins: Add the walnuts, cranberries, and nutmeg. Stir until well distributed throughout the bowl.

Cool: Spread the mix onto your prepared pan. Place the pan in the fridge until it is firm enough for you to break apart.

Break Apart: Break the white chocolate into bark pieces. You can use a knife while it is still slightly sticky. You can also break it apart by hand, or cover and use a meat tenderizer when it has fully hardened.

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White Candy Bark FAQs

Why is it called “Candy Bark”?

The name comes from the fact that Candy Bark usually has an assortment of extra treats mixed into it, giving it the rough texture of bark. The shape after you break them apart can also look like the various shapes of bark that fall off of a tree. Don’t let the name put you off though, because its bark is worse than its bite.

What is the best way to smooth out White Candy Bark?

Once you’ve poured the ingredients onto the foil-wrapped cookie sheet, get a rubber spatula and smooth the melted chocolate. You want to start at the center of the pan and spread outwards to cover the entire baking sheet. Once the baking sheet is fully covered, go back over it with the spatula one more time to smooth out any large lumps.

Why isn’t my Bark perfectly smooth?

Remember that the Candy Bark won’t ever be completely flat because of the cranberries and nuts in it, so don’t go crazy trying. In the end it is supposed to look a little textured, like actual bark. When it is cut into pieces it will be nice to see the little bits that are in each handheld bite.

Can White Chocolate Cranberry Bark be made ahead?

You do not need to wait until the day you want to serve or share it to make your Cranberry Bark. It needs time to set and cool anyway, and the bark will be just as good in the few days after you make it as it was on day one. Go ahead and make this ahead of your holiday gathering. If you are making lots of treats to share with others, White Chocolate Bark could be priority number one. Save the cakes or cookies for your day-of, or day-before preparation because those treats may be best served fresh.

White Chocolate Cranberry Bark spreading mixture onto pan

Variations on White Chocolate Cranberry Bark

Add-Ins: Because White Chocolate Cranberry Bark is so customizable, you can mix in pretty much anything you’d like to match the occasion. Try semi-sweet chocolate chips, dark chocolate chips, caramel, crushed candy cane, crushed pretzels, sliced pecans, walnuts, or cashews. You can even add in a little orange zest to enhance the other flavors and add a little color. After all, Orange and Cranberry pair well together and are a classic holiday pairing.
Dried Fruit: If you aren’t a big fan of cranberries, you can swap them out for other delicious dried fruits. Dried cherries, dried apricots, or dried strawberries would all be tasty choices. Experiment with these fruits and your choice of nuts. If you enjoy eating a handful of a certain fruit and nut together, you’ll also enjoy them in this Candy Bark.
Nut-Free: Nut allergies are so common and if you’re feeding this to a crowd, it might be a great choice to eliminate the nuts from the recipe in case someone is allergic. However, you still will want the variation in texture, nutty flavor, and bit of salty-savory flavor that nuts bring. Try replacing the nuts with seeds, like pumpkin or sunflower seeds to bring that crowd-pleasing flavor and texture.
Toppings: If you like the look, you can add a little bit of the fruit and nuts to the top of your White Chocolate Bark. This will really highlight the yummy, colorful ingredients you’ve chosen. For extra fun, sprinkle some colored sugar or sprinkles on top as well!
White Chocolate Bark Ideas: Christmas is a great time to spread some love in the form of sugary food. If you wrap up your White Chocolate Cranberry Bark in decorative parchment paper with a bow it makes a great gift. You can also drizzle a little bit of melted chocolate over the top of the White Chocolate Cranberry Bark to make it look even more fancy and festive. This bark would be perfect to give as a gift in a Holiday tin, especially considering that so many of us have those laying around this time of year. It would also look beautiful on a platter full of other Holiday treats like cookies, dipped pretzels, fudge, or truffles.

White Chocolate Cranberry Bark in pan broken into shards

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How Long is White Chocolate Cranberry Bark Good?

Serve: Keep the White Chocolate Cranberry Bark wrapped in parchment paper or plastic wrap, or put it in an airtight container. This way it will last up to 2 weeks at room temperature. I would definitely eat it sooner rather than later though, because it has a lot more flavor when it’s fresh.
Store: You can keep White Chocolate Cranberry Bark in the fridge for up to 2 weeks in an airtight container. While White Chocolate Cranberry Bark will stay good at room temperature, it can absolutely melt or sweat. Keeping it in the fridge is a very good idea. Always allow the Candy Bark to completely cool down before you put it in the fridge.
Freeze: Pack the White Chocolate Cranberry Bark in an airtight container in the freezer, and it will stay good for up to 6 months.