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Autumn Spiced Dark Chocolate Bark piece centered between other pieces.
Sweets & Snacks

Autumn Spiced Dark Chocolate Pretzel Bark

This dark chocolate pretzel bark is made with spiced chocolate, and healthy ingredients like chia seeds, gluten-free pretzels, yogurt, and goji berries.

Prep: 10 Minutes
Cook: 10 Minutes
Total: 20 Minutes
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Recipe Index | Cook | Sweets & Snacks

Autumn Spiced Dark Chocolate Pretzel Bark

This dark chocolate pretzel bark is made with spiced chocolate, and healthy ingredients like chia seeds, gluten-free pretzels, yogurt, and goji berries.

Autumn Spiced Dark Chocolate Bark piece centered between other pieces.

Dark Chocolate Pretzel Bark

I think homemade spiced chocolate bark is always better than store-bought. When you make it at home, you get to control how many ingredients are thrown into the chocolatey mix. I love lots of crunch, salt, and flavor in my sweets. For this dark chocolate pretzel bark recipe, I added autumn spices, too. The cinnamon sends the flavor over the top.

I had trouble deciding which chocolate to use, but we went with the Trader Joe’s Fair Trade Organic 72% Belgian Dark Chocolate Bar. You can use whatever chocolate is your favorite, though! I also love Alter Eco Black Out dark chocolate on Amazon.

Autumn Spiced Dark Chocolate Bark pieces stacked
a corner piece of dark chocolate pretzel bark

For the seedy spiced chocolate bark base I mixed salted sunflower seeds, chia seeds, a bit of coconut oil, and autumn spices. For the toppings, I had to use my absolute favorite gluten-free pretzels, my favorite dried berries, and nutritious pumpkin seeds. Honestly, I wanted some color contrast for pictures so the goji berries and pumpkin seeds worked perfectly.

My Recipe for Chocolate Pretzel Bark

It’s best to gather and measure all your ingredients before you start melting the chocolate. I like to break up my pretzels and prep the seedy base first, then I start melting the chocolate. Also, make sure you use a deep enough dish to make the bark. The more shallow the dish, the more thin your bark will be, and that’s no fun.

This recipe is great for the holidays. It’s a super easy dessert for parties and for gifts! I also love how healthy this recipe is. I think people who like to eat healthily tend to fear chocolate, but that’s not unnecessary. Chocolate is a great part of a healthy diet. Dark chocolate can even provide essential minerals like magnesium to your diet.

Autumn Spiced Dark Chocolate Bark piece
Autumn Spiced Dark Chocolate pretzel Bark piece centered between other pieces.
showing the width of each piece of chocolate pretzel bark by stacking them vertically

More Fall Recipes You Should Try

  • 12 Healthy Fall Baking Recipes with Sourdough
  • Sourdough Chocolate Chip Cookies with Pumpkin and Pecans
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Autumn Spiced Dark Chocolate Bark piece centered between other pieces.
Sweets & Snacks

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Autumn Spiced Dark Chocolate Bark

This dark chocolate pretzel bark is made with spiced chocolate, and healthy ingredients like chia seeds, gluten-free pretzels, and goji berries.

  • Prep: 10 Minutes
  • Cook: 10 Minutes
  • Total Time: 20 Minutes

Ingredients

  • 1/4 Cup Sunflower Seeds
  • 2 Tablespoons Chia Seeds
  • 1/2 Teaspoon Ginger Powder
  • 1 Teaspoon Cinnamon
  • 1 Tablespoon Melted Coconut Oil
  • 1 tablespoon yogurt
  • 3 Bars of Dairy-Free Dark Chocolate
  • 1 Cup Pretzels, Broken Up
  • 1/3 Cup Goji Berries
  • 1/4 Cup Pumpkin Seeds
  • 1 Teaspoon Sea Salt

Instructions

  1. In a small bowl combine sunflower seeds, chia seeds, ginger, cinnamon, yogurt, and melted coconut oil. 
  2. Line a rectangular baking pan (about 11 x 7 x 2) with parchment paper on all sides
  3. Spread autumn spiced seed mixture into the bottom of the pan, making one thin even layer. 
  4. Measure and prep the topping ingredients. Crush the pretzels and measure out the goji berries and pumpkin seeds. 
  5. Heat a double boiler over medium heat. As you bring the water to a boil, chop your dark chocolate into small pieces.
  6. Once the water is boiling, place the chopped chocolate in the top portion of the double boiler. Use a spatula to stir the chocolate continuously until it melts.
  7. Carefully remove the top bowl and place on a heatproof surface. 
  8. Pour melted chocolate into your baking pan lined with the seed and autumn spice mixture. Gently tap pan on the counter to remove any air bubbles and evenly distribute the chocolate.
  9. Allow the chocolate to cool and set for about 10 minutes. Then, add your pretzels, goji berries, and pumpkin seeds. Gently tap the pan on the counter again to set toppings into the chocolate. Sprinkle with sea salt.
  10. Allow to cool completely, then cut into pieces and enjoy! 

Notes

Cooling time: at room temperature this can take up to 6 hours. You can also cool the chocolate bark in the fridge for about 1 hour. 

Did you make this recipe?

Please leave a 5-star review below if you loved it! Tag @cultured.guru on Instagram

 

Nutrition information is auto-calculated and estimated as close as possible. We are not responsible for any errors. We have tested the recipe for accuracy, but your results may vary.

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Kaitlynn Fenley Author, Educator, Food Microbiologist
Kaitlynn is a food microbiologist and fermentation expert teaching people how to ferment foods and drinks at home.
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A lot of people think vinegar kills all microbes b A lot of people think vinegar kills all microbes because shelf stable pickles do not contain microbes. But with shelf stable pickles, it’s the pasteurization/sterilization via hot water bath or pressure canning that makes shelf stable pickles free of microbes.

Hot hot hot acid in a pressurized environment does kill, well…most microbes. 

Think about “refrigerator pickle” recipes, though. They need to be stored in the refrigerator because vinegar alone doesn’t stop fermentation.

Fridge pickles are made without pasteurization/sterilization (canning) so they will wild ferment without refrigeration, and not necessarily in a good way because there’s not enough salt. 

All vinegar is made via fermentation too, and vinegar fermentation involves acetic acid bacteria, but also a ton of LAB, mainly Lactobacillus, Pediococcus, and Leuconostoc (the same genera you’d find in fermented veg.)  I linked a reference paper in my fermented mushroom recipe blog, so you all can read about the LAB involved in vinegar fermentation. 

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#mushrooms #fermentation
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Cabbage and the cabbage microbiome offer a lot to balance out beets in fermentation, and I think mixing into a sauerkraut is the only way to go for lacto fermenting beets! 

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🎵Song is Casanova by Rebirth Brass Band
Fermentation is a gift from the microbes of this e Fermentation is a gift from the microbes of this earth.

When we had a food business, I could never shake the feeling that fermentation is not meant to be sold to you from a fluorescently lit grocery shelf in an endless cycle of waste. Fermentation is meant to be cultivated in your home, with your hands, with intention and love in a sustainable, grateful practice of reciprocity and nourishment. 

This is the story of how we got here. 

After so many lessons learned, our small fermentation business is now value aligned, peaceful, fulfilling, and happy.  It often seems like the gut feelings (the microbes within us) guided us in the right direction. To teach. 

You can learn for free on our blog, or you can enroll in our online courses (we extended our new year sale!) Either way, with me as your teacher, you’ll learn to adopt a holistic perspective on the microbial ecosystems that influence our food, lives, and the planet.
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