Double Chocolate Pepitas

This holiday recipe is great for a desert in a holiday celebration or as a holiday gift.

Ingredients
Small batch creating 9-12 pieces
1 lbs white chocolate chips
2 oz Unsweetened dark chocolate
3 oz Roasted pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
1 pinch Kosher salt

Large batch creating 30-45 pieces
5 lbs white chocolate chips
6 oz Unsweetened dark chocolate
1 lbs Roasted pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
1 tsp Kosher salt

Directions
Melt white chocolate in a double-boiler over low heat until smooth. In a separate bowl, melt the unsweetened chocolate, also over low heat until smooth. Prepare a large cookie sheet by spraying or brushing lightly with a flavorless cooking oil or cooking spray (no butter or olive-oil flavored spray). If you have a Silpat sheet, they work wonderfully. Pour the melted white chocolate onto the prepared pan. Spread it out evenly, until it’s about 1/4 inch thick. The chocolate will cool quickly, so work fast!

Pour the melted unsweetened chocolate randomly over the white chocolate layer, don’t be symmetrical or even-handed about it, part of the unique look you’ll get is from the random patterns. If you don’t like random, stripe the unsweetened chocolate onto the white chocolate, then draw a toothpick or knife edge from end to end. This will mix the two chocolate colors, and you can lightly tap the pan on the counter to even it out.

After the unsweetened chocolate layer, sprinkle on the Pepitas and the kosher salt. Set the pan in a cool place where nothing will land on it (I have animals and a 5-year-old-things land in strange places all the time!). Once the chocolate is hard, you just give the pan a good bang on the counter to break it, just like if you were making peanut brittle. If the pieces are too big for your personal taste or too big for sharing (I like a piece about the size of my hand!) you can break them smaller.

Chef’s Note: Since this chocolate bark isn’t tempered, it’s best stored in a cool, dry place, layered with parchment paper. Also, the recipe calls for unsweetened chocolate because it sets off the extreme sweetness of the white chocolate, but if that worries you, you may substitute a high-percent cocoa-solids bitter or semi-sweet chocolate. We use Guittard Chocolate because of it’s smooth melt, but feel free to use any brand you like. Remember to always buy nuts and seeds in bulk sections where you can see, TASTE and SMELL them before buying. Seeds and nuts in the small bags are often old, stale and/or rancid. This recipe may be halved or doubled.