I am not a candy maker. The whole thermometer thing has me completely intimidated. That being said, I can make bark. Bark is basically candy for people who can’t make candy.

This little recipe is from Cooking Light. I’ve had it bookmarked for a year with the intention I’d make it at Christmas. Toasted almonds, dried cherries and pretzels come together for a tasty treat that’s also really pretty.

It’s so easy. I made it in less than 10 minutes, while the baby thumped away in the kitchen. Don’t believe me? You microwave the chocolate. Really, it doesn’t get much simpler than that.

White Chocolate Bark with Pretzels, Almonds and Dried Cherries

Ingredients

2 tablespoons sliced almonds

1/3 cup dried cherries, chopped

2/3 c. small salted pretzel sticks, broken into 1/4-inch pieces

1 (12-ounce) package premium white chocolate chips

Place almonds in a skillet over high heat. Cook 2 minutes or until lightly browned, stirring frequently. Watch them closely. Remove from heat. Combine almonds, cherries and pretzels in a bowl. Set aside.

Place the white chocolate chips in a microwaveable bowl. Microwave at HIGH 1 1/2 minutes or until chocolate melts, stirring every 30 seconds. I added an extra 5 seconds, because mine hadn’t melted yet. Add half of the pretzel mixture to your bowl and stir well.

Spread chocolate mixture evenly with a spatula into a 12 x 7-inch rectangle on a jelly-roll pan lined with parchment paper. Sprinkle remaining pretzel mixture evenly over the chocolate, pressing lightly to adhere.

Freeze 10 minutes. Break into pieces. The recipe says there should be 16, but in my experience, bark just breaks how it wants to.