• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Nourished Kitchen

  • Get Started
  • Nourishing Recipes
  • Cookbooks
menu icon
go to homepage
search icon
Homepage link
  • Getting Started
  • Nourishing Recipes
  • Vibrant Botanicals
  • Cookbooks
  • Easy Swaps!
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
  • ×

    Nourished Kitchen » Honey Recipes » Honey-sweetened White Chocolate Cranberry Bark

    Posted: Dec 3, 2012 · Updated: Oct 26, 2020 by Jenny McGruther · This post contains affiliate links.

    Honey-sweetened White Chocolate Cranberry Bark

    White Chocolate Cranberry Bark, sweetened with honey and spiked with vanilla bean and orange zest, will fill the little holiday boxes we give to neighbors and friends this time of year.  They'll sit there, nestled in dotted crimson tissue paper, right next to the date-sweetened gingerbread men, mandarin oranges and the sesame honey candy.  That is, they will if a certain tow-headed little boy I love doesn't get to them first.

    You see, we favor a five-handed holiday; that is: handmade, hand-me-down, secondhand, helping hands and hand-in-hand. The frantic nature of the holidays never appealed to me (which is, of course, not to say I don't enjoy a good holiday sale).  Instead, I prefer to take the time and sit down with my little boy to work on projects hand-in-hand.  We bake.  We snowshoe.  We snip away at squares of paper to make snowflakes.  This year we're painting our own wooden Advent Calendar which I'll fill with little homemade treats and special hand-crafted items we bought at the recent holiday bazaar.  I plan to tuck a few pieces of this Honey-sweetened White Chocolate Cranberry Bark into the calendar's little boxes.

    Why Cocoa Butter for Homemade White Chocolate

    Cocoa butter is the primary ingredient in white chocolate and it is produced when cocoa beans are fermented, roasted, and pressed.  This process separates the chocolate liquor from cocoa solids and cocoa butter.  Cocoa butter is often then refined and deodorized which removes its beautiful, rich and bloomy floral notes which is why it's imperative to buy food-grade, unrefined oil.

    Cocoa butter is rich in vitamin E and K - fat-soluble vitamins that help to support eye, skin and heart health.  Saturated and monounsaturated fat comprise the 97% of fatty acids found in cocoa butter, and these fats also contribute to cocoa butter's stability in cooking and its long shelf-life.  Monounsaturated fat, the same kind found in olive oil and avocado and lard, supports cardiovascular health while stearic acid (the primary saturated fat in cocoa butter as well as in beef) has cholesterol-lowering properties.

    Homemade White Chocolate for White Chocolate Cranberry Bark

    While cocoa butter, with its floral notes and rich creaminess, is the primary ingredient in white chocolate, I still prefer making my own.  Commercial white chocolates are typically loaded with emulsifiers, additives and white sugar.  And they are, to my taste, far too sweet.

    I prefer a simply making my own white chocolate - with honey and vanilla - similarly to this recipe for honey-sweetened white chocolate chips though I prefer to use far less sweetener.

    Where to Buy Cocoa Butter

    Cocoa butter is not widely available, which is why I use it only occasionally - for holiday treats where its use as a special occasion ingredient can be best magnified.  Occasionally, if you look hard enough, you might find unrefined, food-grade cocoa butter available at large health food stores.

    Rate this Recipe

    Honey-sweetened White Chocolate Cranberry Bark

    Faintly sweet, this simple white chocolate cranberry bark relies on preparing homemade white chocolate using honey, cocoa butter and vanilla bean powder. You can find cocoa butter and vanilla bean powder online here.
    Prep Time10 mins
    Cook Time20 mins
    Total Time30 mins
    Print Save Recipe Saved!

    Ingredients

    • 8 ounces natural unrefined cocoa butter
    • ⅓ cup honey
    • 1 teaspoon vanilla bean powder
    • 2 teaspoons orange zest
    • ½ cup dried unsweetened cranberries

    Instructions

    • Melt cocoa butter in a double boiler over gently simmering water. When the cocoa butter melts into a viscous, fragrant and slightly yellow oil, remove it from the heat and allow it to cool on the kitchen counter for 20 minutes.
    • Pour the melted cocoa butter into a food processor and pour in honey. Pulse three or four times, then add vanilla bean powder and orange zest to the sweetened fat. Process until well-emulsified, then transfer the cocoa butter (still in the food processor bowl with the blad attached) to the refrigerator and let it cool a further 20 minutes.
    • Remove the food processor bowl from the fridge and reattach it to the base. Process the sweetened cocoa butter a minute or two until its color becomes opaque and its texture creamy.
    • Pour the cocoa butter into a mixing bowl and fold in cranberries. Spread the cocoa butter and cranberries onto a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and refrigerate until hard. Break into hunks and serve.
    Tried this recipe?Mention @nourishedkitchen or tag #nourishedkitchen!
    Previous Post: « How to Make Real Cream Cheese
    Next Post: Lentil Stew with Winter Vegetables and Mustard Greens »

    Primary Sidebar

    Hi, I'm Jenny! I'm a nutritional therapist, herbalist and the author of three natural foods cookbooks. You'll find nourishing bone broths, simple herbal remedies and loads of fermented goodness on this site.

    More about me →

    Popular Posts

    • The Ultimate Guide to Bone Broth
    • Sour Pickles
    • Homemade Sauerkraut
    • How to Make CBD Oil
    • Water Kefir
    • Ginger Bug

    Recent Posts

    • Cannabis Honey
    • Strawberry Tart
    • Fermented Jalapeños
    • Carrot Leek Soup
    • Fermented Carrots
    • Bergamot Orange Syrup

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    Explore

    • Nourishing Recipes
    • Broth
    • Fermented Vegetables
    • Fermented Drinks
    • Herbal Remedies
    • Sourdough

    Seasonal Cooking

    • Spring Vegetables
    • Spring Fruits

    Connect

    • Start Here
    • About
    • Contact
    • Facebook
    • Pinterest
    • Instagram

    Privacy Policy + Affiliate Disclosure + Copyright Notice + Accessibility

    Copyright © 2021 Nourished Media LLC. All rights reserved.