This is just pure fun for Independence Day; very easy to make and with the addition of Pop Rocks you get some crackles in your mouth!
The only ingredient in this bark that is measured is the white vanilla bark which is also known as white almond bark or white confectionary coating. DO NOT use white chocolate chips or other white types of chips because they will not melt for pouring or spreading. Yes, they get soft, but not soft enough to pour. The coating needs to be designed to pour when melted.
For the M&M’s, I bought a bag of the mini’s and picked out the red and blue ones. It was not tedious at all, especially since I was relaxing while watching a favorite TV show. My daughter, Katie, had dropped by the house and hung out beside me like a kid, waiting for me to find the malformed M&M’s so that she could dispose of them for me. She was so helpful!
One of the best tips that I can give you for this bark is to put a goodly amount of broken pretzels in it. The bark is very sweet and the saltiness of the pretzels balances the sweetness. The first time I made this bark I did not use enough solids for the base, ending up with too much of the white topping and not enough crunchy stuff to keep it all interesting.
Crackling Patriotic Bark
Ingredients
- 1 to 1 1/2 pounds almond bark, white confectionery coating, or white vanilla bark
- several handsful pretzels, broken (I used waffle pretzels)
- several handsful of crispy coconut cookies, broken (I used Mother’s brand)
- macadamia nut halves
- red, white, and blue sprinkles
- red and blue M&M’s (I used the mini’s, but regular size will work just fine)
- 1 (0.33 ounce) package strawberry Pop Rocks, (optional)
Instructions
- Line a baking pan with parchment paper or a Silpat.
- Crumble the pretzels and coconut cookies onto the parchment. Because of all of the sweet items in this bark, be sure to use more pretzels than cookies. The balance of salty pretzels makes a needed contrast for the bark.
- Sprinkle the macadamias over the pretzels and cookies. Set aside.
- Melt the white almond bark according to package directions. I melted mine in the microwave in a microwave safe bowl. Don’t over-cook the coating, because it will burn. The idea is to get the coating pourable.
- Pour liquified coating over the pretzels, cookies, and macadamias. Smooth, if necessary, with the back of a spoon or a spatula.
- Immediately sprinkle with M&M’s, sprinkles, and Pop Rocks, if using. Note: If you live in a humid climate, the Pop Rocks may not hold up well in the humidity. They could lose their pop and crackle. I live in a very dry climate, so there was no problem.
- Allow to cool at room temperature until solidified, or put the pan in the refrigerator to speed up the process.
- Break apart into small serving pieces.
Notes
You may also like:
Fourth of July Creamy Dessert Salad Parfaits
4th of July Swig-style Sugar Cookies
Berry-Mint Sippers
So Fun! Where did you find your red/white/blue sprinkles?? I looked everywhere and only found Wilton Patriotic mix that had red/blue stars in it…
Smith’s on 90th and 40 something, west of Bangerter. It was the only place I saw them, so I bought two bottles!
Thanks, Terri! I’ll have to cross my fingers and hope there is still some left. I’m making star sugar cookies for pack meeting tomorrow night!
I love this! Perfect for the Fourth and beautiful!
Thank you! It’s very flexible and can be changed with different colors, cookies, nuts, etc. I’ve seen a Halloween version that uses Halloween Oreo’s and Halloween M&M’s. Of course Christmas would be fun with reds and greens, crushed peppermints, and Christmas Oreo’s.
Why do you have M&M with only red and blue colors? Is it a special edition or u choose it? My country (Malaysia) only have the normal 1.
Today, July 4th, is a national holiday here in America. It is the day that we celebrate the signing of our Declaration of Independence in 1776, which declared us to be free of British rule. Our country’s colors are red, white, and blue, so that is why I used those colors in this candy. I bought a regular bag of M&M’s and picked out the red and blue ones just to make this fun and patriotic.
What a delicious idea! I’m afraid they would melt after 5 minutes outside here today. Love the colors.
I made bark for the first time a few months ago and love how easy and delicious it was, so now I’m in bark heaven! 🙂 Thanks for sharing this delicious idea! Perfect colors for the week!
Sounds like a fun treat, no doubt it was a hit:@)
This looks so yummy. We do peppermint bark, but I love this 4th of July version…totally different from what I’m talking about. I bet it would be a hit with our family. Thanks for sharing.
What a great idea to add the pop rocks for a little sparkle for the 4th!
I want to make white almond bark cookies. I am wondering if i can put them in my backpack while out hiking in the wilderness without them melting. ty
John, almond bark is stable at room temperature. However, it softens easily at body temp. Unless you are hiking in a cool/cold wilderness, I don’t think that almond bark is a good choice. Then again, if it melted, you could scoop it up with a spoon.