FESTIVE BARK

 With July the 4th being on Sunday this year and Monday being the official holiday seems like it's lasting three or four days. Our normal Fourth of July celebrating is usually spent with our younger son, Patrick, and his family hosted by grandkids Madison and Tyler's god-parents. It isn't usually held on the fourth but this year it is. Jamie and Martin furnish the hotdogs and hamburgers and everyone brings a dish or two to share. Likewise, everyone brings their own fireworks, except for one couple I know who just sits and enjoys watching the kids having so much fun. As usual I offered to bring dessert.

When I offered to bring dessert I had no idea what I was going to bring, but I knew something would come to me. I figured I would find something in a cookbook, but surprisingly it came to me from the television. 

Friday I had been watching CBS, This Morning and left the room as they were giving the week's stories. When I walked back in, the local Kansas City show was on and a girl was in the process of making some (Almond) Bark for your Fourth of July celebrations. I had missed the beginning but I was able to see enough to run with. 

I waited til Saturday night to make it and asked Wayne to help me. I had him stir the candy wafers to melt them while I was heating up another bowl. I also had him crush the pretzels. He did pretty good except I had him crush more because I saw we didn't have enough from the first bagful. He ended up not breaking the second bagful as fine as he broke the first bags so the pretzels were a little bigger than I really wanted them to be. But they didn't ruin the taste.

FESTIVE BARK

3     12 - ounce bags, red, white, and blue, candy melt wafers

M & M's

Crushed Pretzels

Line large cookie sheet with wax paper that has been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.

Melt the candy melt wafers according to directions on package.

Pour melted wafers in three piles on wax paper.

Using something like the end of a piece of stainless stir the colors together to make streaks in the piles.

 

Drop the M & M's and press them down in the mixture. 

Drop small pieces of pretzels and press them down. (My husband didn't crush the pretzels fine enough and then sprinkled too many on top. I pressed them down but most of them didn't stick and fell off when I cut it into pieces.)

Place cookie sheet in the refrigerator to harden candy melt. (I left mine in the frig overnight.)

Lift the wax paper off the cookie sheet.

Cut with a large sharp knife. Layer between wax paper in an airtight container. (This was an area that Wayne sprinkled the pieces of pretzels thick. When I cut a section off with my sharp knife, the pretzel pieces just fell off.)

Madison and Tyler really liked the bark. When we got ready to leave, I asked our son Patrick if they wanted to take what was left home. He surprised Wayne by saying, "Yeah." I didn't want it at home to be constantly tempting me to grab a piece. 

Here are some pictures I took when it was getting dark...

I hope you had a fun, safe Fourth of July.