This Chocolate Christmas Bark with gingerbread recipe is an easy-to-make (no tempering chocolate required), fun, and no bake chocolate bark loaded with mini gingerbread man cookies, baking gums, and sprinkles! The flavors of the gingerbread, chocolate, and candies pair perfectly together and make a great dessert or snack.
Like my Christmas Biscotti and Christmas Nougat, this Chocolate Bark Christmas recipe also makes a great edible gift! It's popular during the holiday season, was inspired by my Melted Witch Halloween Bark Recipe, and is a nice change-up from Christmas cookies.
Jump to:
- Why You'll Love This Recipe!
- 🥘Ingredient Notes
- 📖Variations & Substitutions
- 🔪Step-by-Step: How to Make Chocolate Christmas Bark
- Expert Recipe Tips
- 👪 Serving Size
- Top tip - Save $$$
- 🌡️Storing Chocolate Bark
- ❔ Recipe FAQs
- Didn't find the answer you're looking for?
- 🎄More Easy Holiday Treats
- 📋Gingerbread Chocolate Christmas Bark
Why You'll Love This Recipe!
- It's easy! There is no tempering chocolate to worry about, you only need a handful of ingredients.
- It's festive, colorful, and fun! This dark and white chocolate bark screams,
- "C-H-R-I-S-T-M-A-S !" with its festive green, red, and white sprinkles, sparkling sugar, and gingerbread men.
- It makes a great edible gift. This gingerbread bark stores well and is easy to pack into a festive tin to give as a holiday gift. You can also add it to your holiday tray.
- It's ideal for making with kids. It's easy enough that young kids can really get involved in making this Christmas bark. It's much easier than making a gingerbread house.
- It tastes amazing! Not all holiday barks are created equal, and not all taste that great. But this one gingerbread cookie bark is DELICIOUS, and you'll be proud to share it with family and friends over the holidays.
Love festive gingerbread recipes?! Be sure to try my Gingerbread Christmas Smoothie too.
🥘Ingredient Notes
You will need the following ingredients for this Christmas Chocolate Gingerbread Bark:
- White Chocolate. Baker's chocolate or other high-quality chocolate bars are the best chocolate to use
- Semi-sweet melting chocolate/baker's chocolate. You can buy this in bulk.
- Christmas green and red sprinkles. I use a combination of nonpareils and jimmies. The sprinkles are round and the jimmies are the long ones.
- Baking gums. These are gumdrops made specifically for baking and have a similar texture to jujubes. But they have a unique and delicious flavor that pairs so perfectly with the gingerbread and chocolate in this recipe. You can buy them in bulk, too.
- Mini gingerbread man cookies. Make sure you use mini gingerbread man cookies. I have found them in regular grocery stores and in bulk.
- Sparkling white sugar. Sparkling white sugar is basically an edible glitter and makes this bark look extra festive! You can get this in the cake decorating aisle of hobby and craft stores, on Amazon, and in some grocery stores.
📖Variations & Substitutions
- Mini Gingerbread Men- you could make your own mini gingerbread man cookies with my No Chill Gingerbread recipe and a mini gingerbread man cookie cutter (affiliate link).
- Baking gums- you could use another type of gumdrop or candy
- Semi-sweet Chocolate - you can use a mixture of dark chocolate or milk chocolate with white chocolate instead of semi-sweet.
- White chocolate - you can use white chocolate candy melts (but I do NOT recommend using white chocolate chips)
- Sparkling sugar - swap out the sparkling sugar for sea salt for a delicious sweet-savory combo!
- Add-ins -you could swap out the sprinkles for crushed candy canes or add your choice of toppings
🔪Step-by-Step: How to Make Chocolate Christmas Bark
Prep: Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or wax paper.
Chop chocolate into smaller pieces. This will help it to melt more easily.
Melt semi-sweet chocolate at 50% (½ power) in a microwave-safe bowl for about 3-4 minutes, checking at 1-minute intervals and stirring between, until melted.. **Do NOT get any water near your chocolate or it will seize!
Melt white chocolate in the microwave the same as above.
*I recommend putting both the bowl and baking sheet on a trivet, as the chocolate is hot!
Pour melted chocolate onto a prepared baking sheet (lined with parchment paper).
*Alternatively you can melt chocolate in a double boiler on the stovetop
Drop white chocolate by the spoonful onto melted semi-sweet chocolate.
Then swirl with butter knife or an offset spatula to get desired marbled effect. This is the easiest way to do this.
*Bang bottom of cookie sheet down on counter a couple of times to remove lumps and air bubbles.
Add mini gingerbread man cookies.
Then add sprinkles, baking gums, and sparkling sugar.
Set aside and allow to harden for 1-2 hours at room temperature.
Then lift out of baking pan and place on a flat surface.
Break into large pieces and enjoy! You can just use your hands to break it into pieces, or you can cut it with a sharp knife (see recipe FAQ's)
Hint: When you are melting chocolate in the microwave, less is more! Take the chocolate out at regular intervals and stir. The heat from the melted chocolate helps to melt the remaining unmelted pieces. You do NOT want to heat your chocolate any more than you have to, or you risk it seizing.
Expert Recipe Tips
- Use high-quality chocolate for smoother melting. Better-quality baking chocolate or couverture melts more evenly and gives you a silkier finish than chips, which contain stabilizers.
- Avoid white chocolate chips. They seize easily because of added stabilizers; use real white chocolate baking bars or melting wafers for best results.
- Make sure all equipment is completely dry. Even a small drop of water can cause chocolate to seize, turning it grainy instead of smooth.
- Melt chocolate slowly and gently. Use short microwave bursts (15-30 seconds), stirring in between to prevent burning.
- Don't spread the layers too thin. A slightly thicker layer gives the bark structure and helps prevent it from snapping or crumbling.
- Tap the pan after spreading the chocolate. Lightly tapping the baking sheet on the counter releases air bubbles and smooths the surface.
- Press toppings in gently before the chocolate sets. This ensures your cookies and candies stay attached and don't fall off later.
- Use a warm knife for clean cuts. Heat the knife under hot water, dry it, and then slice to prevent cracking.
- Chill only until set - don't freeze immediately. Rapid freezing can cause white streaks (fat bloom), so let it set in the fridge first.
- Keep it cold for the best texture. Since the chocolate isn't tempered, refrigeration or freezing keeps it firm and prevents melting.
- Customize toppings for different flavor profiles. Peppermint, pretzels, dried cranberries, nuts, or sprinkles all work well and should be bite-sized.
- Break the bark by hand for a rustic look. Snapping it into chunks gives that classic, jagged bark appearance.
👪 Serving Size
This Chocolate Bark Christmas recipe makes 24 servings. However, you can half, double, or triple the recipe by clicking on the serving number and selecting the number of servings you'd like. The ingredient quantities will automatically adjust.
Top tip - Save $$$
It is much more economical to buy your melting chocolate in bulk. I bought everything for this recipe at Bulk Barn!
🌡️Storing Chocolate Bark
Fridge: Homemade chocolate bark will last in an airtight container for about 2-3 weeks. Because this chocolate is not tempered, I recommend storing it in the fridge or freezer to avoid melting.
Freezer: I pop this easy chocolate bark recipe right into a freezer-safe Ziploc bag or container after it's done. This way it will last longer. It will last up to 4 months in the freezer if properly stored.
❔ Recipe FAQs
I do NOT recommend using white chocolate chips in this recipe, as they do not melt as well because they have stabilizers in them.
Run a sharp knife under hot water for 15 seconds, then dry it off with a clean tea towel. This will warm the blade slightly, preventing the chocolate from cracking as you cut through it.
That's fine! The toppings are quite versatile. Feel free to substitute with other candies, crushed candy canes or peppermint, nuts, pretzels, or holiday sprinkles. The flavor and texture will shift a bit, but it'll still be delicious.
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If you're looking for unique holiday desserts or chocolate bark for Christmas, this Gingerbread Christmas Chocolate Bark is fun, festive, and easy. It also makes a perfect holiday treat and the perfect gift for the holidays!
🎄More Easy Holiday Treats
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📋Gingerbread Chocolate Christmas Bark
Ingredients
- ½ lb white chocolate 8oz
- 1.5 lbs semi-sweet chocolate melting chocolate (24 oz)
- ⅓ cup Christmas green and red sprinkles (mixture of jimmies and nonpareils)
- ⅓ cup baking gums (gumdrops made specifically for baking)
- 24 mini gingerbread man cookies
Instructions
- Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Chop chocolate into smaller pieces (¼ inch approximately)
- Melt semi-sweet chocolate at 50% (½ power) in microwave safe bowl for about 3-4 minutes, checking at 1 minute intervals and stirring between, until melted. Pour onto prepare pan (lined with parchment paper). *Alternatively you can melt chocolate in a double boiler on the stovetop.**Do NOT get any water near your chocolate or it will seize!
- Melt white chocolate in microwave the same as above.
- Drop by spoonfuls onto melted semi-sweet chocolate.
- Then swirl with butter knife to get desired effect.
- Bang bottom of cookie sheet down on counter a couple of times to remove lumps and air bubbles.
- Add mini gingerbread man cookies.
- Then add sprinkles and baking gums.
- Set aside and allow to harden for 1-2 hours at room temperature.
- Break apart and serve.
Terri Gilson
This Christmas Chocolate Bark is a holiday treat dreams are made of. It's incredibly easy to whip up - no fancy chocolate tempering required! The combo of gingerbread cookies, candies, and chocolate is pure festive magic. It's the perfect last-minute dessert or homemade gift that'll have everyone thinking you're a kitchen pro.