Sweet and Salty Easter Bark
Published Mar 31, 2020•Updated Mar 15, 2023
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This No-Bake Sweet and Salty Easter Bark is layered with salty pretzels, crunchy cereal, and Easter candy! It’s an easy spring project to make with young kids (but adults love it too).
In the midst of this strange time where everyone is staying at home, there’s a common theme I’m hearing from so many of you – baking! I’m trying my hand at a sourdough starter (I forgot to stir it the first time around, so had to start again) and baking lots of bread. Here on the site, popular baking recipes right now are 1-Hour Dinner Rolls (so light and buttery!), Semolina Yogurt Cake (a classic), Healthy Smash Cake (hooray for spring birthdays!), and the Best Chocolate Bundt Cake (seriously…the best).
But perhaps, like me, you’ve got young kids around and need a less-complicated baking project that will keep them (and you) occupied. Or perhaps you just want something sweet and salty to snack on while you’re working in your basement in the world’s most uncomfortable chair. Sweet and Salty Easter Bark is here for everyone!
This Easter bark barely needs a recipe. We’ve made the same recipe for Halloween, and it’s always a lot of fun, only slightly messy, and lets the kids get creative without the need to measure ingredients or use the oven. You probably have most of what you need in the pantry, but see below for plenty of substitution ideas.
Ingredients for Sweet and Salty Easter Bark
- Easter Candy – I have a serious soft spot for chocolate Cadbury Mini Eggs and they are great in this. Just crush them a bit before adding them to the bark so you get some in every bite. Lots of other Easter candy would work here though – pastel M&Ms (mini or regular) would be really fun.
- Vanilla Almond Bark – This inexpensive baking bark can be found in the baking aisle and holds all of the layers together. This is super easy to work with – just melt it in the microwave, stirring every 30 seconds once it melts. It comes in vanilla or chocolate flavor – either flavor works great.
- Pretzels – Pretzels make the salty base of this bark. I like to use pretzel sticks because it’s easier for the kids to spread them out in a single layer and they break apart easily when it’s time to break the bark apart to eat. Any shape pretzels will work just fine, so use whatever you have on-hand.
- Cereal – Just use any cereal you have in your pantry. We used Rice Chex because it has a sort of neutral flavor and lets the sweet and salty flavors in the other ingredients shine. But seriously, any cereal will work.
- Sprinkles – Optional, but my kids love shaking sprinkles out over top for some extra flair. 😎
And now, my soon-to-be six-year-olds will demonstrate how to make Sweet and Salty Easter Bark. Enter Molly and Clara….
Step 1: Crush Candy
If you’re using Cadbury Mini Eggs (my favorite for this recipe), you’ll need to break them into smaller pieces. Put the chocolate eggs in a sealed plastic bag and smash into pieces with a rolling pin or meat tenderizer. If you’re using a different type of candy, skip this step.
Step 2: Pretzel Layer
Line a sheet pan with parchment or wax paper (this will make it much easier to remove the bark when you’re done). I use either one large sheet pan or these two smaller sheet pans so each of the girls can make their own batch.
Spread pretzels out in a single layer.
Step 3: Almond Bark + Cereal Layer
Melt almond bark in the microwave, stirring every 30 seconds once it starts to melt. (Note: If you look closely at the photos, you’ll see that I put the bowl of melted almond bark inside a larger bowl that contains some warm tap water. This is not necessary, but will help the almond bark to stay melted longer if you have kids that you think might take their time making this.)
Drizzle 1/2 of the melted almond bark over the pretzels.
Top with cereal.
Step 4: Almond Bark + Candy
Drizzle remaining melted almond bark over the cereal.
Top with candy and sprinkles (if using).
Step 5: Refrigerate (15 minutes)
Refrigerate for about 15 minutes to let the bark cool.
Step 6: Break Apart and Enjoy!
Break the almond bark apart. You may be able to do this with your hands, but you can also transfer the bark to a cutting board and use a knife to chop it into pieces. Part of the fun is that it will break into uneven pieces of different sizes. Enjoy!
More Easy Baking Ideas for Young Kids
- Strawberry Nutella Hand Pies – Hand pies are small enough to hold in one hand and filled with good stuff. And these, with creamy chocolate Nutella and strawberry jam are not only fun, but represent everything that is good and sweet and right with the world.
- Frozen Greek Yogurt Bark – Frozen Greek yogurt bark is a fun way to transform creamy yogurt into a cold, crisp bark. You need only three ingredients that can be easily customized. Make it in a few minutes and freeze it for a grab-and-go snack or breakfast.
- No Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars – A peanut butter and graham cracker base, topped with a chocolate layer means these no bake bars are fun to make and even more fun to eat.
- Slow Cooker Granola – Slow cooker granola is a one pot recipe for a classic granola that is golden brown and super crunchy. Everything is combined right in the slow cooker – just one dish to clean!
- Dark Chocolate Almond Energy Bites – Just four ingredients needed to make these healthy, protein-packed chocolate almond energy bites that taste like cookie dough but have no added sugar. Keep them in the fridge for a quick pick-me-up.
- Easy Apple Crumble – One of the best, and easiest desserts! Filled with tender, caramelized apples and topped with a sweet oat topping, this easy apple crumble is always a crowd-pleaser. Even better topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream!
Favorite Tools
- Half Sheet Pan – The best sheet pan to use for most sheet pan meals has straight sides like this one. This helps to prevent any of those delicious ingredients from falling off the pan as everything cooks.
- Anchor 3-Piece Glass Mixing Bowls – My go-to mixing bowls for baking.
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Easter Egg Crunch Bark
Equipment
- Half Sheet Pan
- Microwave Safe Mixing Bowl
- Parchment Paper
Ingredients
- 2 cups Cadbury Mini Eggs (see note)
- 24 oz Vanilla Almond Bark
- 8 oz Pretzel Sticks
- 6 cups Cereal (I used Rice Chex; see note)
- 1/4 cup Sprinkles (optional)
Instructions
- Put Cadbury eggs in a sealed plastic bag and smash into pieces with a rolling pin or meat tenderizer. (Just do this enough to break apart the chocolate eggs into halves or quarters; if using a different type of candy, you can skip this step.)
- Line a sheet pan with parchment or wax paper.
- Place almond bark in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave on high until fully melted and smooth, stirring every 30 seconds once it starts to melt. (Note: When I’m making this with my kids, I place the bowl of melted almond bark inside a larger bowl that contains some warm tap water. This is not necessary, but will help the almond bark to stay melted for longer while you assemble everything.)
- Spread pretzels out in a single layer on a sheet pan.
- Use a spoon to drizzle about 1/2 of the melted almond bark over top of the pretzels so that every pretzel has a few lines of almond bark cutting across it.
- Add cereal in a single layer. Drizzle with remaining melted almond bark.
- Top with candy and sprinkles.
- Transfer sheet pan to the refrigerator until bark is firm, 15 to 20 minutes.
- Once firm, break the bark apart into pieces. (Part of the fun is that there will be some big and some smaller pieces.)
- Store in a sealed container (in the fridge or at room temperature) for up to 5 days.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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