I’m drooling over this super easy chocolate orange bark recipe.
Last week I was in Ottawa for work and I tacked on a few extra days to my trip so I could visit a friend. We always squeeze in some shopping and crafting (Exhibit A and Exhibit B), but this time we spent most of our time just chatting and catching up. She is really into essential oils, and I use essential oils in my crafts (like my DIY air freshener, my handmade soap experiments, and my pretty soy candles), but I had never tried baking with them. To convince me, Ashley whipped up this delicious chocolate orange bark for me to try! I had never in my life made chocolate bark, but it was so delicious that I wanted to share it with you. If you’re looking for a pretty dessert to whip up in two seconds flat, you might want to try this easy chocolate orange bark recipe. It’s simple to make, but looks like it took a lot of effort!
Ingredient for Chocolate Orange Bark
- Orange essential oil – 6 drops
- Shredded, unsweetened coconut – small handful
- Semi-sweet baking chocolate – 8 oz
- One large orange (to zest)
- Baking sheet with rim
- Parchment paper
- Small pot
- Zester – must be turquoise or mint for recipe to work 😉
Making this chocolate orange bark is too easy to even call this a recipe, but here’s how to make your own chocolate bark.
How to Make Chocolate Orange Bark:
- Melt the baking chocolate on low heat in a small pot.
- Add 6 drops of orange essential oil and combine well.
- Pour into a rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
- Let cool a few minutes and top with orange zest and shredded coconut.
- Pop into the freezer for a couple of hours and – ta da!
World’s easiest dessert! But this chocolate orange bark tastes phenomenal: not too sweet but with a very satisfying orange flavor.
Notes on Consuming Essential Oils
I’ve only ever cooked/baked with extracts, not oils, so this was a fun experiment! Have you ever tried baking/cooking with essential oils? If you are going to use essential oils in place of extracts, please make sure they’re intended to be consumed (food grade) and watch the quantity as well, because essential oils are highly concentrated and many otherwise healthy things can be toxic in high concentrations. Here are some essential oil safety tips to check out and if you’d like some practical tips, this article features an interview with an RN who uses essential oils in her cooking. Plus check out this list from the FDA because it lists which essential oils can be consumed (remember: some are toxic!). Plus, something I learned from my friend, beware of popular brand knock offs online – only buy from trusted sources.
Chocolate Orange Bark Recipe
Ingredients
- 6 drops orange essential oil
- Small handful of shredded, unsweetened coconut
- 8 oz semi-sweet baking chocolate
- One large orange (to zest)
Instructions
- Melt the baking chocolate, on low heat, in a small pot.
- Add 6 drops of orange essential oil and combine well.
- Pour into a rimmed baking sheet, lined with parchment paper.
- Let cool a few minutes and top with orange zest and shredded coconut.
- Pop into the freezer for a couple of hours and – ta da!
P.S. Don’t Forget to Pin for Later!
Very interesting post. It is troubling to me that knock-offs are being sold. It's difficult to really know what you are getting and what lurks inside the product. Thank you for linking us up with the real thing. That chocolate looks amazing.
I had no idea this was a thing people would want to knock off, lol.
Oh, I love chocolate with orange! I wonder if this would work with a dark chocolate?
Definitely! You can grab any kind of baking chocolate to make this work well – we used semisweet but unsweetened would be amazing too 🙂
Mmmm! I do love chocolate and orange- such a delicious combination.I absolutely agree about spending more to support fair wages for producers. I love the quality, convenience and supporting local when I buy at our farmers market and farm store. I pay extra for quality and just will consume less if I can't afford it otherwise. Please consider the same for chocolate- child labour is a huge issue in the chocolate industry and big brands are doing little other than lip service to address it. I buy fair trade cocoa, as well as, chocolate and chocolate chips. Look for the the fair trade certification. Sorry, I don't like to soapbox my concerns on someone else's platform but I do consider it a legimate issue and you did mention fair wages for goods, so I was compelled. I don't want to be preachy, just informing.I have heard that consuming essential oils is not recommended, not even high grade. Aromatherapists strongly urge against it while often the producers of top quality oils will promote it, as a measure of their purity. The concern isn't about quality or contaminants but potency. Essential oil are therapeutic and their effects are quite potent and not typically meant for ingestion. I don't know who's right on this one but I err on the side of caution. Keep the recipes coming- you always offer lovely and different treats.
I appreciate the information! I don't honestly purchase a lot of chocolate because of my sugar free/low sugar inclination, so I tend to come by it when friends and family bribe me with it lol. I have sometimes focused on fair trade labelling, sometimes looking for organic instead/in addition but I have not made a concerted effort when I shop. I buy from local chocolatiers when I can – not knowing where their beans are from – but I admit to buying Skor bars at the movies! Still trying to stick to minimal sugar anyway these days, but it's a struggle…Concerning the potency of essential oils, as I understand it IS (partly) about what's in it and whether it's intended for consumption (the additives are, apparently, a huge issue) but you are right about the strength as well. From what I understand, the method of how and how much is consumed is key. It is definitely sold by the brand for consumption (with rules) for which they've had to jump through hoops from Health Canada, but I always recommend people do their research. For most things in life, dosage is important for safety. But, again, I would never want to convince anyone to try something they have doubts about, but having done the research myself and read both sides I am comfortable with using essential oils in a recipe such as this. Thanks though, as always, for your insightful comments! I always enjoy a genuine interaction, even if people don't agree, over a generic "that's cool!" comment 🙂
Yum! Looks sooooooo good
It was!! Disappeared pretty quickly, haha!