Can we just take a moment and appreciate coffee? The roasting of coffee beans, the aroma, the espresso extraction, the drip of the chemex. Ugh, these little coffee beans are already 50% of my food pyramid [#noshame]. I know I’ve already said this but seriously, my top 3 favorite ingredients for a dessert are coffee, chocolate, and coconut…what else could you possibly ask for, ya know? Anyways I’m basically always down for infusing coffee into a recipe- (any way that I can introduce delicious creamy caffeine into my system).
For some reason, I never even thought of the possibility of coffee + chocolate bark? I was even a little nervous when making it! I’m usually only comfortable using espresso or drip coffee into a recipe, but when it says “instant coffee”, my internal barista cringes. That being said…using ground up coffee? Even more risky. I was worried it would just seem like used, burned coffee grounds, especially after roasting in the oven for a few minutes. Thankfully my obsession love for coffee was up for the risk & seriously- I could not have been more wrong! The oven allowed the coffee to roast with the almonds and guys…the aroma of coffee + nuts in an apartment is seriously heavenly (no joke, I’m about to try to find a candle that can perfectly imitate that aroma).
The only thing that makes this recipe even better is the fact that it’s bark, so it’s super easy yet looks pretty damn impressive. There’s really only a handful of ingredients, and most of them are pretty much always stocked in my apartment. That being said, it’s bark. Feel free to substitute! If you don’t like coconut, 1-you’re weird but 2-leave it out! If you prefer milk chocolate to dark, switch it! If you don’t like coffee…how did you even end up here? haha
Personally, I’m whipping up this batch for classmates, since I’m in charge for a group discussion, and food is the key to pretty much everyone’s hearts, right? Since I spent most of the day researching, studying, and coordinating the discussion- that left pretty little time to bake, which is why this bark fit perfectly. I don’t have to go shop for extra ingredients, it takes less than a hour, it tastes freaking delicious, and, of course, it’s pretty impressive looking. Not only that, but it does work for a perfect study snack. A little piece of caffeine coated chocolate- sure to fuel up and motivate everyone to get through a detailed medical discussion (plus I was sure to save extra for myself to snack on during the weekend studying I have planned)!
- 1 1/2 cups whole raw almonds
- 1/2 cup pistachios
- 1/2 cup fresh ground coffee beans
- 1 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 2 tablespoons melted coconut oil
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 2 cups dark chocolate
- 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Lay almonds evenly on top of baking sheet. Roast almonds for about 6 minutes, until fragrant. Be careful that almonds do not burn.
- In a bowl, mix together coffee grounds, cocoa powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In a separate bowl, add coconut oil and vanilla and mix together.
- When the almonds are done, take baking sheet out. Pour almonds into a bowl that has a lid. Add pistachios along with coconut oil mixture. Sprinkle coffee mixture on top. Close the lid and shake until all nuts are coated.
- Pour nuts back onto baking sheet and place back in oven. Roast again until coffee + almonds become fragrant, about another 5 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and let cool.
- Line a sheet pan with parchment or wax paper.
- Melt the dark chocolate in a double boiler. (I place a bowl over a small pot of simmering water, stirring until fully melted.)
- Pour majority of chocolate on prepared sheet and spread evenly. Make sure to leave it thick, as this is the base for the bark.
- Sprinkle roasted nuts and coconut on top.
- Use the remaining melted chocolate to drizzle back and forth on top of bark. (I pour the melted chocolate into a ziploc bag and snip the corner. Easy to manipulate and easy clean up as well!)
- Refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes to 1 hour. Then, break bark into big pieces and enjoy.
