I’ve been spending some time thinking about what treats to make for my family for Valentine’s Day. My kids are a little spoiled when it comes to decent quality chocolate – they can’t stand the cheap stuff sold in heart boxes by most companies this time of year. I can’t say I blame them – most of that is pretty awful.

This year I decided to start out with some strawberry lemonade bark. I like the color combination that white chocolate and freeze dried strawberries bring for a Valentine treat. Like any other chocolate bark, it’s also very easy to make. I used white chocolate chips because they work well enough for this kind of treat.

I chose a combination of lemon extract and citric acid for the lemonade flavoring in the white chocolate. The lemon extract gives the flavor a good start, and the citric acid brings a nice tartness to the chocolate.

Amounts don’t have to be precise. Taste the white chocolate as you add in the lemon extract and citric acid so that you get the right tartness for your preferences. I like thinks pretty tart, but my youngest daughter hates anything sour so I have to be careful.

Mix the lemon extract and citric acid into the melted white chocolate thoroughly. The citric acid takes some work to mix in smoothly, but it’s worth it.

Once the white chocolate is sufficiently lemony for your tastes, spread it in a thin layer on a parchment paper covered baking sheet. This doesn’t have to be perfectly smooth – chocolate bark looks good with a little roughness. Make sure no sections are too thick.

Sprinkle the freeze dried strawberries all over the white chocolate. The large pieces can be moved around so they aren’t too thick in any one area. Tap them lightly into the chocolate so that they stay in place.

There will be strawberry powder in the bottom of the bag. I did what I could to sprinkle the powder over as much of the chocolate as possible. It gives a nice color and flavor to those areas not covered by larger pieces.

Refrigerate for one hour, then break into serving size chunks.

You could also do this in molds, but I like the rough look of broken bark. Amazon carries a nice selection of heart shaped silicone molds for chocolate.

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Strawberry Lemonade Bark

Ingredients

• 11 oz white chocolate chips
• 1 tbsp lemon extract
• 1/2 tsp citric acid or to taste
• 0.52 oz bag freeze dried strawberries

Instructions

1. Prepare a baking sheet by covering it with parchment paper.

2. Melt white chocolate chips in microwave using 30 second increments and stirring between rounds. Chocolate should become smooth.

3. Mix lemon extract into melted white chocolate and stir thoroughly to combine. Add citric acid to taste.

4. Spread white chocolate in a thin layer over the baking sheet.

5. Sprinkle freeze dried strawberries over the white chocolate, moving large pieces as needed for a good distribution. Use strawberry dust in package as well. Tap large strawberry pieces lightly into chocolate.

6. Refrigerate for one hour to solidify chocolate. Break into chunks and serve.