Store-bought primary mint is a key ingredient in chocolate mint bark. Credit: Doug Young

If you are looking for a no-bake solution for this year's holiday gifts, you might consider chocolate bark. It's as simple as melting some chocolate, sprinkling some toppings to harden your candy, and then dividing it into pieces. This is a quick alternative to spending hours making cookies.

Use items that enhance the flavor of the bark and decorate it. Swedish fish, red pepper or skittles look cute, but can they really go well with chocolate? Healthy ingredients such as nuts, seeds, dried fruits and dried coconut are natural choices. The same goes for salty snacks such as pretzels, potato chips and peanuts, which balance the sweetness of chocolate. Toffee cubes or caramel candies work well. There is nothing wrong with accumulating more chocolate, such as M&Ms, Reeses' Pieces or Junior Mints.

The trickiest thing about this recipe is to melt it so that it will quickly re-harden and become shiny. If it is overheated, the cocoa butter in the chocolate will separate from the cocoa solids. The two are difficult to recombine when cooled, so when the separated chocolate sets, it will look cloudy and dull. To avoid "chocolate blooming" (this is how candy is called), don't melt the chocolate by heating it directly in the pot, which actually guarantees separation. You can use a double boiler, but since the chocolate will get stuck even if it comes in contact with a drop of water, this is also risky.

Setting the microwave oven at low instead of high is your best choice. Roughly chop the chocolate. Having some larger fragments allows you to control how fast it melts. Put the chocolate in a microwave safe bowl, turn the microwave down, take out every 30 seconds and stir with a rubber spatula until about 2/3 of the chocolate is melted, 2 to 3 minutes depending on the power of the microwave. Remove from the microwave and continue stirring until the remaining pieces are completely melted.

Follow the recipe below, or let your taste and imagination determine your color scheme and topping choices, mix and match according to your preferences.

Chocolate: The candy melts into different colors (drizzle or spin)

Fruit: dried or dehydrated, chopped if necessary; citrus peel

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Nuts: roasted and chopped nuts; sesame, sunflower and pumpkin seeds, toasted coconut

Sweets: chopped primary mint, York mint pie, crushed candies, mini peanut butter cups, chopped M&Ms

Other ingredients: crushed pretzels, potato chips, graham crackers; crushed biscuits, such as gingerbread; mini marshmallows. Breakfast cereals, including crispy rice, cocoa puffs and fruit rings, chopped crystallized ginger, and flaky sea salt

Calories: Roasted and crushed anchovy peppers, Aleppo pepper flakes

12 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

4 ounces of melted peanut butter candy (optional)

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line the baking sheet with parchment paper and place a shelf on the paper. In a small bowl, combine the maple syrup and brown sugar. Stir until smooth. Brush the bacon with maple mixture and bake until crispy and caramelized, 20 to 30 minutes. Let cool, then cut into ½ inch pieces.

2. Spread aluminum foil on the bottom and sides of the 8-inch square baking pan.

3. Follow the instructions above to melt the chocolate. If necessary, repeat the melted peanut butter candy.

4. Spread the chocolate evenly on the bottom of the pan with a small metal spatula. If using, pour the peanut butter candy on top to melt. Pass a toothpick or fork through the chocolate and spin it together in a decorative pattern.

5. Sprinkle with chopped bacon and marshmallows. Let stand for 1 to 2 hours until it hardens. Broken before packaging in a sealed container.

12 ounces milk, semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

¼ cup candied orange peel, chopped

1. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Place 10 lollipop sticks or popsicle sticks on the baking sheet, at least 2 inches apart from each other.

3. Drop 2 tablespoons of melted chocolate on one end of each stick and use the back of the spoon to spread out into a 3-inch circle. Sprinkle with orange zest, toffee and almonds. Sprinkle lightly with granulated sugar. Let stand for about 30 minutes until it hardens. Put it in an airtight container, separate the layers of popcorn with parchment paper, and store it at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the refrigerator for up to 10 days.

10 ounces white chocolate, roughly chopped

3 ounces royal blue candy melted

2 tablespoons golden chocolate sunflower seeds or golden M&Ms

1. Spread aluminum foil on the bottom and sides of an 8-inch square baking pan.

2. Melt the chocolate. Repeat the melting of the blue candy.

3. Spread the chocolate evenly on the bottom of the pan with a small metal spatula. Drizzle the melted blue candy on top. Pass a toothpick or fork through the chocolate and spin it together in a decorative pattern.

4. Sprinkle with blueberries and sunflower seeds or M&Ms. Let stand for 1 to 2 hours until it hardens. Cut it into pieces before packaging it in an airtight container and storing it at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the refrigerator for up to 10 days.

8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

A 3.5 oz. Boxed (35 pieces) primary mints

1. Spread aluminum foil on the bottom and sides of an 8-inch square baking pan.

2. Melt the chocolate. Repeat the melting of the green candy.

3. Spread the chocolate evenly on the bottom of the pan with a small metal spatula. Sprinkle melted green candies on top. Pass a toothpick or fork through the chocolate and spin them together in a decorative pattern.

4. Sprinkle with primary mint candies. Let stand for 1 to 2 hours until it hardens. Cut it into pieces before packaging it in an airtight container and storing it at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the refrigerator for up to 10 days.

24 ounces white chocolate, coarsely chopped

10 Oreo cookies, broken into pieces

12 miniature candy canes, broken into pieces

1. Spread aluminum foil on the bottom and sides of an 8-inch square baking pan.

2. Melt the white chocolate. Repeat the melting of the blue candy.

3. Spread half of the chocolate evenly on the bottom of the pan with a small metal spatula. Spread the biscuit pieces evenly on the chocolate, and then gently press the back of the spatula to dip them into the chocolate. Spread the remaining chocolate on the biscuit and spread it on the edge of the pan.

4. Sprinkle candy canes. Let stand for 1 to 2 hours until it hardens. Cut it into pieces before packaging it in an airtight container and storing it at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the refrigerator for up to 10 days.

12 ounces milk chocolate, roughly chopped

1 tablespoon white unsalted sesame seeds

1 tablespoon unsalted black sesame seeds

½ teaspoon Aleppo pepper or to taste (optional)

1. Spread aluminum foil on the bottom and sides of an 8-inch square baking pan.

3. Spread the chocolate evenly on the bottom of the pan with a small metal spatula.

4. Sprinkle with sesame seeds. If needed, sprinkle with Aleppo pepper. Let stand for 1 to 2 hours until it hardens. Cut it into pieces before packaging it in an airtight container and storing it at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the refrigerator for up to 10 days.

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