Five-minute Halloween Bark is a go-to dessert all year round

I love to make this chocolate bark during the Halloween season with some M&M's and candy corn or some marshmallows and raisins throughout the year.

It's also an excellent recipe for all those times a friend calls and asks you to bring over a dessert and you stop to realize that you don't have anything in the house.

Well, yes, you do and here is the recipe for it! Chocolate bark is my “go-to” dessert, and the chances are that everything you need is already in the pantry.

This is also a perfect recipe to make with the kids because it is so easy.

This recipe is gluten-free and nut-free, unless you want to add them.

Some other fun variations are adding Rice Krispies and a pinch of sea salt, salted pretzel pieces, mini M&M's, or a couple of handfuls of crushed candy canes. The combinations are endless.

• Karen Nochimowski, the mom behind MommaChef.com, has loved cooking for as long as she can remember. After friends and family begged to be let in on her culinary secrets, she decided to create a blog featuring the easy, quick recipes that everyone loved. All Momma Chef recipes are made with 6 ingredients or less and under 6 minutes of prep time. The goal of Momma Chef blog is to help busy moms serve fabulous meals with little effort and few ingredients to their families. Nochimowski also started and runs Momma Chef's Soup Kitchen and Momma Chef's Little Free Pantry, which provides food at no cost to those in the Chicago community.

Chocolate Halloween Bark

1 cup (8 oz.) semisweet chocolate chips

20 candy corns

1 small bag of M&M's (I like to use the 1.69-ounce bag)

Spray a small baking pan (9x13) with cooking spray.

Pour chocolate chips into a microwave safe bowl and microwave on high for 1½ minutes.

Mix and microwave for another minute until all of the chocolate is melted.

Spread mixture into the greased pan and drop in candy corn and M&M's.

Refrigerate at least 30 minutes until set.

Break up the chocolate bark and enjoy!

Notes: Some other fun variations include Rice Krispies and a pinch of sea salt, salted pretzel pieces and mini M&M's or a couple of handfuls of crushed candy canes for the holidays.

Serves 8

— Karen Nochimowski