4th of July Candy Bark

I think I've mentioned - many times - that 4th of July is one of my absolute favorite holidays.  It speaks to my sense of pride in our nation and it also has always been a time that our family and friends get together to celebrate.  This year isn't going to be as big of a celebration for us as what we usually have, but that really won't slow us down.

My Pinterest feed has been filled with so many fun treats to choose from, but since we are still working on the kitchen remodel I don't have a stove/oven/sink in the kitchen and was afraid my hands were tied.  Then I started noticing all the candy bark, trail mix and popcorn and it was a light bulb moment.  I kind of pulled from all of them to come up with mine.

Easiest thing ever to make and the only appliance needed was a microwave!

I will warn you it's one of the sweetest things I have ever eaten.

And doesn't it look all festive in the Longaberger Basket??

Here's the general directions to what I did and feel free to adjust to what you want.

4th of July Candy Bark

6 Oreo Cookies

a handful of pretzels

Wilton vanilla candy melts

red and blue mini m&m's (I bought a bag and meticulously pulled out the colors I needed!)

red and blue sprinkles

optional - mini marshmallows, chex cereal, Cheerios

Line a cookie sheet with wax or parchment paper.  Crush the oreos and pretzels and spread loosely over the paper (I just crushed them in my hand).  

Place about half a bag of candy melts in a microwave safe bowl and melt about 1 minute at 70% power.  Stir, then repeat until it is all melted, but do not overmelt - it gets yucky.  Drop in generous blobs over the top of the oreos and pretzels, then lightly use the back of your spoon to smooth it out.  While the candy melts are still wet, sprinkle the top with m&m's and sprinkles.

I placed the cookie sheet in my refrigerator to help it set, probably about 15 minutes.

A tip:  the blobs need to be pretty generous.  The first half of my candy melts I tried to just use the spoon and ended up with a dirty looking batch as the candy picked up the cookie crumbs.  Tastes the same, but not nearly as pretty.

Shared on:  A Diamond In The Stuff, Take a Look Tuesday, One Project At A Time, Terrific Tuesday, You're Gonna Love It, The Scoop, Brag About It, Anti-Procrastination Tuesday