Holiday baking is like an athletic event in my family.  It takes preparation, years of training, and in the end it is always worth the hard work put in.

Growing up, we would all bake cookies together as a family, with my mom leading the show…well now that my sister and I live a couple of hours away from my family we have to do our own holiday baking…which we are both completely fine with!

We blocked out our Saturday night to tackle some of our holiday favorites.

Delight Bars (although you may know them as Magic Bars!)

Holiday Pretzel Buttons (made with a Rolo instead of a kiss!)

Mom’s Holiday Buckeyes (my favorite!)

Cherry Coconut Bars (This is the recipe featured in the holiday cookbook!)

Healthy Holiday Bark

The Holiday Bark is a something new I tried so that I could have a slightly healthier holiday treat this year.

To make this healthy treat I included:

• Dark Chocolate-promotes heart health and is rich in antioxidants
• Raw Walnuts-good source of healthy fat, fiber, magnesium, and phosphorous
• Reduced Sugar Dried Cranberries-may lower cholesterol

• Pumpkin Seeds-full of minerals such as magnesium and phosphorous
• Chia Seeds-naturally high in fiber and omega 3s

I was so pleased with the end result.  The chia adds a slight extra crunch to the chocolate and the flavors of the nuts, berries, and chocolate blend together to create a treat that doesn’t really taste healthy at all 🙂

Enjoy!

Healthy Holiday Bark

Ingredients:

• 12 oz dark chocolate (look for a high percentage of cocoa)
• 1/2 cup plus 2 Tbsp dried cranberries
• 1/4 cup plus 1 Tbsp pumpkin seeds
• 1/4 cup plus 1 Tbsp chopped, raw walnuts
• 1 Tbsp chia seeds

Directions

1. Place wax paper on baking sheet.
2. Melt chocolate slowly in microwave.  First put in microwave for 1 minute, then stir.  Microwave 30 seconds, then stir.  Continue to repeat this until the chocolate is smooth.
3. Mix in 1/2 cup cranberries, 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds, 1/4 cup walnuts, and chia seeds.
4. Spread the chocolate mixture onto the wax paper lined baking sheet.  If you are using a full sized baking sheet, this will only cover about half.  You don’t want to spread too thin.
5. Sprinkle the remaining nuts and berries over the top of the bark.
6. Place in the fridge to cool for 2 hours.  Once completely cooled, break apart and enjoy!