The Cagle Chronicles: Pistachio Bark

If you know me, you know that approximately 75% of the recipes I've cooked over the past 3 years have been courtesy of a little site we all know and love called Pinterest.com. If you aren't using it, then what the heck are you waiting for?! It's not that I didn't cook good things in the years BP (before Pinterest), let's just say that the product quality of what I cook has increased significantly since then. Yes I still come across duds every now and then. I tried out a new pasta salad this past weekend that was just ok, and the leftovers are still in the fridge awaiting fridge clean-out day aka the night before the garbage comes aka tonight. But then there are some recipes that I come across that are 5-Star-I've-Already-Made-A-Second-Batch-2-Days-Later-Winners aka recipes that get promoted from my Recipes I Want to Try and Sweet! Sweets boards to my Recipe Favorites board. I'd like you to meet the most recently promoted recipe on the Recipe Favorites board:

Pistachio Bark meet the Cagle Chronicles, Cagle Chronicles meet Pistachio Bark.

When I saw the recipe I thought chocolate-check, nuts-check, Oreos-check, caramel and salt-check check. It had all the players, so it had to be decent. I changed a couple of things from the original recipe. For example: I was not spending $12 or more on 16oz of chocolate bars like the original recipe called for so I substituted 2 bags of semisweet chocolate chips for $5. I was able to make a larger pan with 24oz of chocolate to work with, plus I got $.10 Fuel Perks....Score! Because I was using chips and not a chocolate bar I added some Canola oil to thin the chocolate out just a bit. Enough with the chit chat, let's get to the good stuff, le recipe.

adapted from this recipe

What you Need:

2-12oz bags semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 Tbsp + 1 tsp Canola oil

1/2 cup Kraft Premium Caramel Bits or chopped caramel squares

10 Oreo cookies, roughly chopped

3/4 cup shelled pistachios, chopped

generous pinch of sea salt

How to Make It:

Line a large baking sheet (approximately 12" x 16") with parchment paper. Set aside. Have your caramel pieces, chopped Oreos, chopped nuts, and salt readily available so you can use them as soon as your chocolate is ready.

In a large bowl, melt chocolate chips in 30 second increments, stirring after each 30 second cooking period. Once chocolate is melted, add 1 Tbsp canola oil and mix thoroughly.

Spoon 2-3 Tbsp melted chocolate into a small bowl and set aside. Pour remaining chocolate onto parchment paper and gently spread with a spatula until it's roughly 1/8 - 1/4 inch thick. Sprinkle caramel pieces, Oreo pieces, and chopped nuts on top of chocolate. Lightly press toppings into chocolate. Reheat chocolate you set aside earlier if necessary, and mix in 1 tsp canola oil to thin it out. Drizzle thinned chocolate over toppings. Sprinkle salt over the entire pan.

Chill in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours. Break in to pieces and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.