Chocolate Covered Nuts (and/or Bark)

I just made some more of these today.....Make your friends or family a gift of chocolate covered nuts or “bark” – it doesn’t take long and makes a nice homemade gift (or just something good to eat for yourself!!).

1. Melt chocolate chips of your choice (I like bittersweet or semisweet, but any kind works, including white chocolate) --  put one cup of chips plus one Tablespoon of shortening in a bowl and melt in the microwave on HIGH for 30 second intervals.  Stir thoroughly between each interval (even if it hasn’t melted much). 
2. Once melted, stir in nuts.  Put as many nuts as you can fit in the chocolate and coat them all.  Any kind of nut is fine.  If you want,  you can toast them first.
3. Drop nut/chocolate mixture on waxed paper at whatever size you like (I do teaspoonfuls).  Put it refrigerate for a few hours to harden.  After that, they do not need to be refrigerated.
4. Wrap in cute bags or however you want, and give them away!!

Options:  Sprinkle a little bit of kosher or sea salt on top of each nut cluster before refrigerating (salt and chocolate are amazing together!!).  Or season the nuts while toasting them.  You can also add dried cranberries or other fruit if you like that.  Or skip the nuts and add crushed candy canes.  The variations are endless!

You can also make Almond Bark or Pecan Bark or any kind of Bark – just add fewer nuts or more chocolate – spread out on waxed paper in one big piece (as thick or thin as you like) – refrigerate and then break into chunks. You can create a marbled effect by melting dark and white chocolate - put one down first and then drop spoonfuls of the other and twirl a knife or fork in it to make a pattern.