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Haunted Chocolate Peanut Butter Bark. You don’t need to be a professional baker to make these deliciously easy homemade Halloween treats. This spooky chocolate bark requires no oven time and has just 5 ingredients: chocolate, peanut butter, butter, sugar, plus whatever spooky decorations you like. I used white chocolate to make my ghosts! This bark takes almost no effort to make and is fun no matter your age. You really can’t mess these up!
Boo!! Now that we’re into spooky season I’m so excited to be making and baking up the spookiest recipes. I had so much fun with these!
The one thing I always keep in mind when creating spooktastically fun desserts is the difficulty level. I’m no professional when it comes to decorating sweets. So instead of sharing a recipe that will potentially leave you in tears (I’ve been there), I try to keep them easy.
I can’t think of an easier recipe than a chocolate bark, so making this spooky was the best idea!
I kept the ingredients simple: chocolate, peanut butter, butter, and sugar. And maybe some white chocolate pretzels if you want to go that extra mile.
You can really do what you want here. Use my base bark recipe, then decorate however you please. Just be sure to have fun!
Here are the steps!
Step 1: make the peanut butter pumpkins
If you’ve ever made peanut butter balls you can make these pumpkins. They’re made with peanut butter, butter, and powdered sugar. Beat the ingredients together, then roll the dough into little balls. These are your pumpkins.
Next, I used broken cinnamon sticks for stems, but small pretzel sticks work perfectly too (plus, they’ll taste yummy). Then I like to draw stems with a little melted chocolate. Nothing fancy!
Step 2: the chocolate bark
I love using super dark chocolate for this. I used 12 ounces of 70% dark and then 12 ounces of unsweetened chocolate. Then I melted the two together and poured half of the chocolate on a parchment-lined cookie sheet.
Next, take the remaining peanut butter (about 1 cup) and begin dolloping it over the chocolate. Keep the dollops to 1-2 teaspoons.
Now take the remaining melted chocolate and pour it directly over the mounds of peanut butter. Don’t stress about making this perfect. Just gently spread the chocolate out.
Step 3: decorate
When the peanut butter pumpkins are firm, you can place them directly onto the melted chocolate. Then chill the bark until it’s fully set. Honestly, it’s best if you can let everything really chill overnight, but 30 minutes in the freezer does the trick too.
My biggest piece of advice is to make sure to keep the chocolate bark away from the sun, it will melt quickly!
For decorating, I made mini pretzel ghosts using pretzel twists and white chocolate. These are the easiest, and so fun to make. You really can’t mess them up.
I arranged the ghosts in between the pumpkins and then chilled the bark for a few hours. Once chilled, I then sprinkled over some black sanding sugar to make everything sparkle, yet still feel spooky.
The secret to success with this chocolate bark is to not stress about making it perfect. The more imperfect the spookier – and that’s a GOOD thing.
Yes, the awesome thing about Halloween treats is that the more imperfect they look, the better.
It’s all about that spooky vibe, so embrace the imperfections here. No one pumpkin or ghost should look like another.
You can pack them up and take them to the school Halloween party. Or serve them up at your adult-filled Halloween bash.
Looking for other Halloween cookies? Here are my favorites:
Chewy Brown Sugar Peanut Butter Spider Cookies
Enchanted Graveyard Pomegranate Punch
“I put a Spell on You” Poison Apple Martini
Black Widow Peanut Butter Bars
Hocus Pocus Spellbook Brownies
Milk Chocolate Stuffed Jack-O’-Lantern Cookies
BOO! Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars
Lastly, if you make this Haunted Chocolate Peanut Butter Bark, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Haunted Chocolate Peanut Butter Bark
Servings: 12
Calories Per Serving: 668 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 2 cups creamy peanut butter
- 4 tablespoons salted butter, at room temperature
- 1-2 cups powdered sugar
- 24 ounces dark or semi-sweet chocolate, melted
- cinnamon sticks, pretzel sticks and twists, and black sanding sugar, for decorating
- white chocolate, for decorating pretzel twists (optional, see notes)
Instructions
- 1. To make the pumpkins: Beat together 1 cup peanut butter, the butter, and 1-2 cups powdered sugar until combined. Roll the dough into 1-inch balls and place on a parchment-lined cookie sheet.2. Insert a cinnamon or pretzel stick into the center of each dough ball. Drizzle chocolate around the cinnamon stick to look like a stem. Sprinkle with black sanding sugar. Chill in the freezer until firm, about 30 minutes.3. Meanwhile, line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Spread half the chocolate into a thick layer. Add small spoonfuls of the remaining peanut butter, then cover the peanut butter with chocolate. Arrange the pumpkins over the chocolate. If making/using the white chocolate pretzels, decorate as desired. Chill the bark until firm, at least 30 minutes to an hour. 4. Break into pieces and serve! Keep chilled in the fridge.
Notes
White Chocolate Ghosts: Dip each mini pretzel twist in melted white chocolate and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Chill for 10 minutes. Then drizzle with more melted white chocolate. Insert two candy eyes. Place the pretzels in the freezer to set for 10 minutes.
I love a good bark.
But I really want to know about the little pumpkins in the pictures—are they tomatoes???
Did you make them??!! Tell me how?
I love this! Such an adorable recipe for this years family Halloween get together. I’ll be using the recipes from here to enjoy with my family and friends. Thank you!
Thank you so much! Hope you enjoy! xT
Bringing homemade peanut butter sweets to a school, in 2023? Not to mention whole cinnamon sticks covered in sugar (???) This recipe is not safe for kids.
I don’t think a recipe should be rated on whether or not one agrees with it’s appropriateness of bringing to school; how unfair for the rating factor! The author is just making a statement – it doesn’t mean you must follow what they suggest! Recipes should be rated on how good they turn out & taste! This is actually a tasty recipe if you’ve actually made it!
I’ve made it; it was fine. Certainly not a “five-star” recipe. I didn’t use cinnamon sticks though—how tasty were the ones you used? Did you eat them?
Hey Sashca! Thank you for the feedback!
Hi Tieghan! Not sure if you are aware, but most school are nut free these days so I’m assuming most of your readers would not be able to bring this to a school Halloween party.
Thank you for letting me know Kim! Such a good reminder! xT
The cinnamon sticks you are referring to–do you mean actual pieces of cinnamon (like what is used for potpourri) or the churro-type sticks that are puffy and dusted with cinnamon and sugar? Using an actual cinnamon stick might be dangerous and/or surprising. Especially if it is camoflauged with chocolate and sanding sugar. Eeeeek!