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Orange Pecan Crunch Bark
Ingredients
Salty-sweet glazed pecans go well with any kind of chocolate. Bark is flexible — you can also use plain nuts, dried fruit, potato chips, crushed pretzels, or crisp rice cereal. Bark may be frozen and recipe may be halved.
2 cups pecan halves (8 oz.)
2 Tbsp. frozen orange juice concentrate
2 tsp. grated orange zest
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
4 cups finely chopped dark, milk, or white chocolate (1 1/2 lb.)
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Orange Pecan Crunch Bark

Orange Pecan Crunch Bark

Orange Pecan Crunch Bark
  • Servings:Serves 16
  • Prep Time:40 minutes
  • Cook Time:120 minutes
directions
Note: The trick to making good bark is to melt the chocolate slowly over a very low heat.
1. Prepare pecans. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with foil and spray generously with vegetable cooking spray. Use a paper towel to spread spray evenly over surface.
2. In a large bowl, toss pecans with juice concentrate and zest. Stir in sugar and salt. Mixture should be grainy and wet. Scrape nuts onto prepared baking sheet and use a rubber spatula to spread in a single layer. Bake at 325 degrees F for 10 minutes. Coating on nuts will be bubbly. Stir, then bake an additional 5 minutes. Remove pan to a cooling rack and let cool to room temperature, about 1 hour. (Recipe may be prepared in advance up to this point.) When glazed pecans are cooled, store in an airtight container at room temperature.
3. Prepare bark. Line baking sheet with a new sheet of foil, but do not grease. Set aside.
4. Melt chocolate using a double boiler, or a metal bowl or saucepan that will rest on top of a bottom saucepan. Fill bottom pan halfway with water. Place chocolate in top pan. Heat water over medium-low heat. If water begins to simmer, lower heat so that water is barely steaming. Gently stir chocolate after about 1 minute. Chocolate should melt slowly — it should feel barely warm to the touch. Stir every minute or so, until three-quarters of the chocolate is melted, about 10 to 15 minutes. Remove top pan from heat and stir until all the chocolate has melted and mixture is smooth. Stir in orange zest.
5. Add glazed pecans and stir to coat thoroughly with chocolate. Pour chocolate onto prepared foil and use a spatula to spread chocolate mixture. Cut into a roughrectangular shape. Pecans should be spread out, just 1 pecan deep, into a rectangle about 12 by 17 inches, with chocolate around and in between the nuts.
6. Let bark set at room temperature for 4 to 6 hours, orpreferably overnight. It should firm up and be solid. Break into pieces roughly 1 1/2 inches by 2 inches. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for three days, or freeze for up to one month. Serve at room temperature.
Source: Hannaford fresh Magazine, January - February 2009

 
 
 
 
 
 
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