This four-ingredient chocolate-covered espresso bean bark with almonds is an easy, no-bake dessert just perfect for the days you want a sweet treat but don’t want to put the oven on! Roasted, salted almonds and whole espresso beans are covered in dark chocolate and topped with chocolate sprinkles.
When I bought a 2+ lb. bag of whole espresso beans to make this vanilla espresso almond butter, I knew I had to commit. Commit to making multiple batches of almond butter (easy), commit to grinding my own espresso beans (not hard), and commit to coming up with other recipes that use them. Otherwise this bag would be taking up a big percentage of my tiny kitchen shelf space for years to come.
One of my favorite chocolate-covered sweet treats are chocolate-covered espresso beans. Of course, I would never turn down a chocolate-covered pretzel, raisin, strawberry, almond, peanut, etc. but espresso beans are just rare enough in a dessert spread to make me shovel a bunch in my mouth and then worry I’ve over-caffeinated myself for it being 9 pm at night. That’s a price I’m willing to pay for indulging in those crunchy, sweet, and slightly bitter treats.
Chocolate-covered espresso beans, if bought in the store, also tend to be a little pricey for the rate I plow through them. So when I bought my mega bag of espresso beans, I knew chocolate-covered espresso something was going to happen. The thought of sticking close to the original and individually dipping espresso beans in chocolate was not going to fly with me (hello, tedium!), so chocolate-covered espresso bean bark it was. Except with roasted and salted almonds added to the mix for an extra crunchy, slightly salty taste.
This bark is E-A-S-Y, which is exactly how I like my summer desserts (also my spring, fall, and winter desserts). First you line a square baking dish with foil, melt half of the dark chocolate, and then spread the chocolate in an even layer on the bottom of the foil-lined dish. Scatter as many espresso beans and almonds as your heart desires over top while the chocolate is still melty, and then pop the pan in the refrigerator to chill, until the chocolate has hardened. Once that happens, remove the pan from the fridge and spread the rest of the melted chocolate over top to cover the espresso beans and almonds. Go nuts with the chocolate sprinkles (or any other decoration you’d like) and refrigerate once more so all the chocolate has hardened. Once that happens, slice and eat!
Espresso beans covered in dark chocolate are a hard beast to photograph. Try as I might, I could never get a bark piece edge that cut exactly in the middle of a bean. Trust me though, with their bold flavor, there’s no mistaking that they’re in there.
This four-ingredient chocolate-covered espresso bean bark with almonds is an easy, no-bake dessert just perfect for the days you want a sweet treat but don’t want to put the oven on! Roasted, salted almonds and whole espresso beans are covered in dark chocolate and topped with chocolate sprinkles.
- 1 1/3 cup dark chocolate chips or chunks, divided
- 2 1/2 tbsp whole espresso beans
- 3 tbsp roasted and salted almonds
- Chocolate sprinkles for decoration
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Line an 8" x 8" baking dish with foil. Melt half of the chocolate (2/3 cup) and evenly spread on the bottom of the foil-lined dish. Scatter espresso beans and almonds over top of the melted chocolate. Place pan in the refrigerator so that chocolate hardens.
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Once chocolate hardens, melt remaining 2/3 cup chocolate and spread it over the espresso beans and almonds in an even layer, taking care to cover them. Add sprinkles over top, or whatever you'd like for decoration. Place dish back in the refrigerator to harden completely. Once hardened, slice into pieces.
This recipe is highly adaptable! Add as many or as few espresso beans/almonds as you like.
lili renarde says
oh wow! that just sounds perfect 🙂 definitely going to try that out in the next few days! Thank you for sharing this recipe. Love your blog!
lili xx
Alyssa says
Thank you so much Lili! 🙂
Mary Frances says
Espresso, chocolate, almonds, and sprinkles, uh heck to the yes! I love how thick you make your bark, that is my kind of treat. Me and this whole batch will be in the corner of the closet if you need us, thank you very much 😉 Fantastic job Alyssa!
Alyssa says
Hahaha I would probably be there with you and the bark, Mary Frances. Thanks!
Helen @ Scrummy Lane says
I smiled at your comments about ‘committing’ to the espresso beans, Alyssa! I’ve done this so many times with different ingredients – bought a big bag of something and then found it really hard to use it all up!
Just love this bark – I love choc bark generally and think it always ends up looking really impressive even though it was so easy to make. This one has a bit of a luxury feel to it – perfect for a classy summer dessert with coffee! 🙂
Alyssa says
Haha yes Helen, I know what you mean! I’ve been diligently working through a bag of chia seeds too. Bark has become one of my new favorite things to make. You said it – everyone always loves it and it’s so much easier to make than it looks. Thanks. 🙂
Dani @ House in Tillford says
Yummy! I can see myself making a batch of these to snack on throughout my work day!
Alyssa says
Thanks Dani! That’s a great idea…I need to make another batch to bring with me to work, too. A great afternoon snack!
Stephanie @ The Glamorous Gourmet says
Good Lord this looks divine! My husband adores chocolate-covered espresso beans so I must make this for him – thanks for sharing and I’m so happy to discover your blog. If you like food, wine, travel & entertaining please swing by The Glamorous Gourmet sometime – Cheers:)
Alyssa says
Hi Stephanie, thanks so much for stopping by! I bet you (and your husband!) would love this bark. I’m a big fan of food, wine, travel, AND entertaining so I’ll be checking out your blog for sure! 🙂
Cooks with Cocktails says
Wow your bark looks so amazing but you had me when i read espresso and chocolate, two of my favorite combinations. Love your pictures!
Alyssa says
Thank you so much! 🙂 Espresso and chocolate are two of my favorites too, whether in drinks, desserts, or candy!
Cakespy says
My choco-meter is buzzing at the sight of this tastiness.
Alyssa says
Yes for sure! All the good stuff is going on here. 🙂 Thanks!
Annie @Maebells says
I think we are soul sisters. This has all of my favorite things, and I am so with you…individually dipping espresso beans in chocolate is just not how I roll. This bark is happening like asap, genius!
Alyssa says
We definitely have similar taste buds, Annie!
Natalie @ Tastes Lovely says
I love this! I’m always sneaking one of those little boxes of chocolate covered espresso beans into my cart when I’m at Trader Joe’s. But they definitely are pricey, especially since they only last me about 2 days, haha! Can’t wait to make this : )
Alyssa says
Haha I love those!! But yeah, they disappear almost immediately. Too good!
marcie says
I love chocolate bark, and this one sounds especially delicious with the almonds and whole espresso beans! Talk about a pick-me-up! Pinned. 🙂
Alyssa says
Definitely a pick-me-up, Marcie! That’s a good enough excuse for me to bring some to work as an afternoon treat! 🙂