Gingerbread Cookie Dough Bark

Step into Christmas – as Elton once said! And without further ado, let’s get on with some festively inspired treat making. I almost typed baking, but there is no need to turn on the oven for this one (well, maybe just the microwave for a couple of minutes).

I usually make my Christmas Bark at this time of year. But I wanted to pimp it up a little bit. So I took inspiration from a couple of my earlier posts – Cake Batter Bark and Cookie Dough pops. I also saw a recipe on the fantastic Inside Bru Crew Life, for Gingerbread Oreo Truffle Bark, But sadly we don’t get those Oreos here in the UK.

Gingerbread seem to be ‘the’ flavour this Christmas with GB M&M’s, Twix, even pudding. But, not on our shores. I hope this goes some way to filling that gap!

This bark is chunky, cut into wedges and tastes just like gingerbread cookie dough. If you like gingerbread and cookie dough, you will love this – trust me!

It’s simply made, with a layer of white chocolate, a layer of gingerbread ‘cookie dough’ (made from a bag of ginger cake mix) and a final layer of white chocolate, sprinkled with Christmassy sprinkles. Let’s crack on…

Ingredients:

600 grams of white chocolate

500 grams of ginger cake mix

250 grams icing sugar

100 grams butter, cut into cubes

3 tablespoons milk

Christmas Sprinkles

Plain flour, as needed

Method:

Line an 8”x8” square tin with foil. Melt 300 grams of the white chocolate in a bain marie and pour this into the tin. Smooth over to a level surface and pop in the fridge to set, about 1 hour.

In a microwavable bowl, place the cake mix, sugar, butter and milk. Microwave this on full power for 2 minutes. Remove from the microwave and mix with a fork until all of the ingredients have combined into a thick dough like consistency. If the mix seems too loose, add tablespoons of plain flour until it thickens up. The mix should hold it’s shape when stirred.

Pour this over the chilled white chocolate and smooth into an even layer. Using an off-set spatula helps here, as the mix is sticky. Push it right to the corners. Pop into the fridge and let it chill for an hour.

Melt the remaining 300 grams of white chocolate and pour over the chilled ‘cookie dough’. Again, spread to an even layer and immediately sprinkle on the Christmas sprinkles, as much or as little as you like. Back into the fridge it goes to chill thoroughly. I left it over night, but a couple of hours at least is recommended to get it totally set.

Remove from the tin and peel away the foil. Now, with a very sharp knife cut the block into any shapes you wish. Wedges, squares, whatever. The chocolate might crack a bit, but don’t worry, it adds to the rustic effect!

This was described by one of my colleagues as one of the best things I have ever made. So I leave you with that as your recommendation. It’s cookie dough in texture, gingery and divine! Enjoy…