Halloween Candy Bark
This easy Halloween candy bark recipe is made with bittersweet chocolate, chopped candy bars, peanuts, and a white chocolate drizzle. It’s sweet, salty, crunchy, and completely customizable. You can use whatever candy you have on hand, so it’s especially perfect for turning leftover Halloween candy into a fun new dessert.
Recipe overview: Halloween Candy Bark
- It’s customizable: Use almost any combination of chocolate candy bars and small candies you have.
- Easy to make: All you have to do is melt, spread, decorate, chill, and break into pieces.
- You’ll love the sweet and salty combination: Bittersweet chocolate and peanuts balance all of the sweet candy.
- Great for parties or after Halloween: Make it with seasonal candy before Halloween or empty the trick-or-treat bags afterwards.
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Whether you want to make a fun and easy Halloween dessert, or you have a bunch of leftover Halloween candy you want to repurpose, this easy Halloween candy bark recipe is the perfect solution.
Bittersweet chocolate keeps the bark from becoming overly sweet once all of the candy is added, while honey-roasted peanuts add salty crunch. Finishing with a drizzle of white chocolate adds visual contrast and helps it look more festive alongside all that fun Halloween candy!
Ingredients you’ll need
- Bittersweet chocolate: Because this bark includes other candy, it’s important to use bittersweet (or dark chocolate with more than 60% cocoa content) as the base so it doesn’t become too sweet.
- White chocolate: A drizzle on top ties everything together. If you don’t like white chocolate, you can substitute with bittersweet, semisweet or even milk chocolate.
- Honey roasted peanuts: Adds saltiness to the bark for its signature sweet and salty combination. You can also use roasted salted peanuts.
- Assortment of Halloween candy: See below for suggestions!
- Other additions not shown here: Pretzels, chopped Oreos, googly eye candies, Halloween sprinkles.
The best candy for Halloween candy bark
I use a combination of all 3 of these categories to get the most fun Halloween bark possible! Note: You’ll need about 1½ cups of candy toppings total.
- Chocolate candy bars: Snickers, Reese’s, Kit Kats, Twix, Milky Way, Whoppers, Hershey’s, etc. Chop them into small bite-sized pieces.
- Small candies: Plain M&Ms or Reese’s Pieces add color and visual interest alongside chopped candy bars.
- Seasonal candy: Candy corn adds more visual interest and Halloween appeal.
Candy that doesn’t work well in chocolate bark: Candy bars that are very gooey or crumbly on the inside, hard candy, or gummy candy. These candies are too sticky or messy, hard to eat as part of the chocolate bark, or don’t match the flavor profile.
Still have candy to use up? My Halloween monster cookies are another fun option and can be customized with M&Ms, candy corn, peanuts, chocolate chips, and chopped candy bars.
How to melt chocolate
While this recipe is easy, chocolate is sensitive to high temperatures and can scorch or burn if heated too quickly. Once that happens, there’s no saving it, and I don’t want that to happen to you! Here are two reliable ways to melt chocolate:
- Melt chocolate on the stove: Add chocolate to a bowl and set it over a small saucepan filled with an inch or so of water (you can also use a double boiler). Set over medium-low heat and stir chocolate as it melts. Remove it from the heat when just a few small pieces remain, then continue stirring until completely melted and smooth.
- Melt chocolate in the microwave: Add chocolate to a microwavable bowl and heat in 30 second intervals, stirring after each (you should only need to heat chocolate for about 90 seconds total). When just a few small pieces remain, stop microwaving and continue stirring until the chocolate is completely melted and smooth.
Why did my melted chocolate get thick or grainy? Chocolate can become thick or grainy if it gets too hot or comes into contact with even a small amount of water. Overheated chocolate can scorch, while moisture can cause melted chocolate to “seize” and clump together. I recommend removing the chocolate from the heat before it’s completely melted (residual heat will get it the rest of the way) and make sure your bowl and utensils are completely dry.
For another chocolate candy project, my salted chocolate truffles include even more tips for melting and tempering chocolate.
How to make Halloween candy bark, step-by-step
Halloween candy bark FAQs
I recommend bittersweet chocolate because it prevents the finished candy bark from being overly sweet. Semi-sweet or dark chocolate with more than 60% cocoa content are fine to use, but I do not recommend milk chocolate for this recipe.
If you want to use chocolate chips, make sure to check the ingredient list and only use chocolate chips with “cocoa butter” listed and not palm oil or other added fats. These additions prevent the chocolate from melting evenly.
Candy bark will last for 2-3 weeks if stored in an airtight container at room temperature, ideally below 72°F, such as in a cool pantry. I don’t recommend storing in the fridge as it can cause condensation on the chocolate when you take it out.
Easy Halloween desserts and treats
Have you tried this recipe? I’d love to hear about it! Leave a rating and review below, or take a photo and tag it on Instagram @completelydelicious.
Halloween Candy Bark
Ingredients
- 1 lb bittersweet chocolate , chopped
- 6-9 fun sized candy bars , roughly chopped
- ¼ cup M&Ms or Reese's Pieces candies
- ¼ cup honey roasted peanuts
- ¼ cup candy corn
- 3 oz quality white chocolate , chopped
Instructions
- Have all of your chopped candy bars, candies, and other toppings ready to go before you melt the chocolate. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper and set aside.
- Melt the bittersweet chocolate. You can do this in a heat proof bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water (make sure the bowl doesn't touch the water), or in a microwave-safe bowl in 30 second intervals. Stir often if heating over the stove, and after each interval if heating in the microwave.
- Remove the chocolate from the heat when it's mostly melted but a few small pieces remain. Keep stirring to let the residual heat melt the rest of the chocolate, it's ready when it's completely smooth.
- Pour chocolate onto the prepared sheet pan and spread it to about ¼-inch thick, or about 8×12 inches.
- Scatter the candy bar pieces, M&Ms/Reese's Pieces candies, peanuts, and candy corn over the melted chocolate, making sure each piece is touching the chocolate directly so it holds together once cool.
- Melt the white chocolate the same way you melted the bittersweet chocolate then drizzle it on the top of the candy bark.
- Let it set in the fridge for 1 hour, then remove it from the fridge. Cut with a knife or break into irregular pieces with your hands (work quickly so your hands don't melt the chocolate).
- Store the candy bark in an airtight container at room temperature away from any heat, such as in a cool pantry. It will keep for 2-3 weeks, but I doubt it lasts that long!
Notes
- Bittersweet chocolate: I recommend bittersweet chocolate because it prevents the finished candy bark from being overly sweet. Semi-sweet or dark chocolate with more than 60% cocoa content are fine to use, but I do not recommend milk chocolate for base of the candy bark.
- If using chocolate chips (either for the bittersweet or white chocolate): Make sure to check the ingredient list and only use chocolate chips with “cocoa butter” listed and not palm oil or other added fats. These additions prevent the chocolate from melting evenly.
- Heat chocolate gently as instructed and avoid contact with water: These can cause your chocolate to burn or seize and turn grainy. If this happens, it cannot be undone and the chocolate can’t be used for this recipe. You’ll have to start over.
- If you don’t like white chocolate: Use milk chocolate for the drizzle.
- Best candy bars to use: Snickers, Reese’s, Kit Kats, Twix, Milky Way, Whoppers, Hershey’s, and other non-crumbly or non-gooey candy bars. (Note: 6-9 fun-sized candy bar yields 1/2 to 3/4 cup once chopped up.)
- Other additions you can use: Pretzels, chopped Oreos, googly eye candies, Halloween sprinkles.
Candy bark is the ultimate Halloween party shortcut — and this one looks dangerously good. I designed spooky party invitations featuring candy bark like this with grok imagine, and the kids went wild for them. Love how customizable this is.
Halloween candy bark is such a fun idea — sweet, salty, and festive all in one! I’m already planning my holiday baking. I photograph all my treats, and I’ve been using Videm to turn my baking photos into little recipe videos. Can’t wait to try this!
My kids LOVE this recipe! They love all the chopped candy bars on top, and I love the contrast of the sweet and salty peanuts with all the candy. Plus it’s so easy to make!
Add more chocolate to our chocolate? Um, yeah, I’m totally okay with that. Butterfingers are the best, now I am craving one so bad Annalise!!
And now I’m craving one too! Love Butterfingers!
Great idea! I have to try this. Thanks.
Hurray for leftover Halloween candy! This looks fabulous – all of my favorites in one bark!
Love this idea! Rationing was never my strong point, and I guarantee that I’d be tempted to eat bite after bite of this bark if it was in my house.
I’ve honestly never made candy bark. I should really give it a try this year. Those PB cups really make it looks so tempting! Great recipe!
It’s like the easiest thing EVER! You gotta try it. 🙂
This is my favorite way to use up the leftover candy!! (and thanks for the link love!)
Absolutely love this idea! Though I don’t usually have a problem finishing Halloween candy off myself 🙂
You can always bring your candy to a Halloween candy buy back eyent. Sorry, that was my work “kate” talking. I think you could share with me if you don’t want to eat it all yourself. 😉
Cool idea though, I’ll have to try it.
Great idea! I can’t buy my Halloween candy even one day early or I won’t stop eating it.