As the holiday season winds down and everyone gears up for New Year’s Resolutions, who says you can’t have your cake and eat it too? These two simple healthy desserts are great for those last minute holiday parties, neighborhood get-togethers, New Year’s Celebrations and weekend cookie exchanges. Armed with these dark chocolate bark and cranberry cookie recipes, you are sure to wow all your friends and family at your new home in Wake Forest. Share your best healthy dessert recipes with Heritage Wake Forest on Facebook!

1.      Dark Chocolate Bark

Ingredients

1 lb. dark chocolate (60-70 percent works best)

1 ¼ cup almonds (whole roasted work best)

¾ cup fun ingredient (try roasted pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, dried fruit, etc.)

 

First, line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Then finely chop your chocolate. If using dark chocolate chips, you do not have to chop the chocolate. Using a double boiler, or a bowl set over a saucepan with simmering water, melt the chocolate. When the chocolate is 2/3 melted, remove it from the heat and stir until all of the chocolate is melted. Then, stir in the almonds and fun ingredients. Coat all of the nuts and other fun ingredients with chocolate. Pour the mixture onto the baking sheet with parchment paper. Use a spatula to spread the chocolate mixture evenly over the baking sheet. Cool the chocolate mixture in the refrigerator for at least 10 minutes, or until cool and hardened. Then invert the hardened chocolate onto your counter and remove the parchment paper. Break up the bark and serve at your new home in Wake Forest.

 

2.      Cranberry cookies

Ingredients

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

1 cup brown sugar

½ cup sugar

1 egg (warm to room temperature)

1 egg yolk (warm to room temperature)

1 tbsp. vanilla extract

2 cups flour (all-purpose works best)

2 ½ sticks butter (warm to room temperature)

1 cup rolled oats (quick-cooking or old fashioned work best)

1 ½ cup dried cranberries

1 ½ cup semisweet or white chocolate (chips work best)

 

First preheat your oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Then, in a medium bowl, mix together the flour, oats, baking soda, baking powder and salt. In another bowl, mix the butter, brown and regular sugar together with an electric mixer. When the butter and sugar is creamy, add the egg, egg yolk and vanilla one at a time to the mixture. Next, add the mixed dry ingredients from the medium bowl. Then, add the cranberries and chocolate chips until a dough forms.  Next, scoop out spoonfuls of the dough onto the baking sheets, leaving 2 inches between the cookies. Bake the cookie dough for 12-15 minutes, or until the cookies are brown on the edges. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets before transferring them to a cooling rack. Serve up your tasty cookies at your new home in Wake Forest. The smell of freshly baked cookies is irresistible.