Cranberry Almond Apricot Bark Food

CRANBERRY ALMOND BARK

Steps:

• In a microwave, melt white chocolate at 70% power for 1 minute; stir. Microwave at additional 10- to 20-second intervals, stirring until smooth. Repeat with semisweet chocolate. Stir almonds and cranberries into white chocolate. Thinly spread onto a waxed paper-lined baking sheet. , With a spoon, drizzle semisweet chocolate over the white chocolate. Cut through with a knife to swirl. Chill until firm. Break into pieces. Refrigerate in an airtight container.

FRUIT AND NUT BARK (APRICOTS, ALMONDS, CRANBERRIES & GINGER)

Steps:

• Melt chocolate in a large double-boiler over just simmering water until barely melted. You want to avoid needing to re-temper the chocolate.
• Stir in the fruits and nuts. Pour out onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.
• Let cool completely. Break into pieces and serve.

CRANBERRY NUT BARK

Steps:

• In a large microwave-safe bowl, melt candy coating at 70% power for 1 minute; stir. Microwave at 30-second intervals, stirring until smooth. Stir in cranberries and nuts. , Spread onto waxed paper-lined baking sheet. Refrigerate for 20 minutes. Break into small pieces; store in airtight containers.

CRANBERRY ALMOND BARK

Steps:

• In a mocrowavable container, melt white chocolate at 70% power for 1 minute, then stir before microwaving at additional 10-to-20 second intervals, stirring until smooth, then repeat with the semisweet chocolate.
• Stir the almonds & cranberries into the white chocolate, & thinly spread this mixture onto a waxed paper-lined baking sheet.
• With a spoon, drizzle semisweet chocolate over the white chocolate, & then, with a knife, cut through the chocolate mixture to swirl the darker chocolate somewhat.
• Chill until firm, then break into pieces before refrigerating in an airtight container.

SWIRLED ALMOND-APRICOT BARK

Steps:

• Line a baking sheet with foil, shiny-side up; smooth out the creases. Make sure all your tools are dry.
• Chop the bittersweet and white chocolate into 1/2-inch pieces with a large knife. Place all but 1/2 cup of the bittersweet chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave 15 seconds, then stir with a rubber spatula. Continue microwaving and stirring at 15-second intervals until melted, about 3 minutes total. Immediately add the reserved chopped bittersweet chocolate to the bowl; stir vigorously until melted and shiny. Repeat with the white chocolate in a separate bowl. Don't worry if there are a few small unmelted pieces.
• Pour the 2 chocolates side by side onto the prepared baking sheet; use the rubber spatula to swirl them together and spread into a 10-to-12-inch circle, about 1/4 inch thick.
• Press the almonds and apricots into the chocolate, arranging them so each bite has a mix of flavors and textures. Sprinkle with fennel seeds. Let the bark harden completely at room temperature, about 1 hour. (If the room is warm, you may need to freeze the bark for a few minutes.) Break into pieces and store in an airtight container at room temperature for 1 to 2 weeks.

OATMEAL-CRANBERRY-ALMOND COOKIES

Steps:

• In a bowl, mix flour, baking soda and salt. In another big bowl, with a mixer, mix butter, sugar, brown sugar until mixture has doubled. Add eggs and vanilla and mix. Add mixture of flour beating at low speed. Add oatmeal, cranberries and almonds and stir with a wooden spoon.
• Let drop the dough, 1/4 cup for each cookie, on ungreased baking sheets, leaving space of 3 inches between each cookies. Put one baking sheet on the superior grill, of a preheated oven of 350 F and the other baking sheet on the inferior grill. Cook 16 minutes or until cookies are golden but lightly soft on top (CHANGE THE BAKING SHEET AT MID-COOKING, THE ONE ON THE SUPERIOR GOES ON THE INFERIOR GRILL AND TURN THEM).
• Let cool on a rack for 2 minutes. Put the cookies on the rack and let cool completely.

ALMOND CRANBERRY APRICOT BISCOTTI

Steps:

• Mix flour and baking powder together& set aside.
• In a separate bowl whisk together eggs, sugar, butter, vanilla and grated orange rind.
• Add almonds, cranberries and apricots.
• Add flour mixture to wet mixture.
• The dough will be sticky.
• Transfer onto a lightly floured work surface.
• Divide dough into two pieces.
• Flour your hands and roll one piece into a log almost the length of your cookie sheet.
• Place on the cookie sheet and flatten to about ½ an inch.
• Both logs should fit lengthwise on your cookie sheet.
• Bake at 350°F for 20 minutes.
• Remove from the oven and let rest 5 minutes.
• Transfer to a cutting board and cut diagonally into ¾" slices.
• Stand cookies on their side and return to a 300 degree oven for 10 minutes.
• Remove from the oven and flip each cookie onto the other side.
• Bake another 10 minutes.
• Let cool on a rack.
• You can use 1 cup of dried fruit mixture in any amount of each that you choose; it doesn't have to be 1/3 of each.