Everyone Told Me These Not-Too-Sweet Chocolates Are the “Most Satisfying” Little Luxury

It probably won’t surprise you to learn that we get a lot of samples sent to our office. The Kitchn editors are constantly testing new (and new-to-us) groceries, appliances, chef’s knives … really anything we might find useful in our day-to-day cooking. As the Director of Groceries, I’m particularly focused on the first category, and am always interested when I receive something that’s well-received by the wonderful — and fiercely opinionated — people I work with.

Most recently, it was a pair of bags filled with chocolate date bark from a little-known brand: Joydays. Believe me when I say, coworkers were clamoring to bring any extras home with them.

Inspired by the 2023 viral date bark trend, Joydays soft-launched its chocolate date bark at a food trade show the following January. Similar to the homemade stuff, the recipe is pretty simple: fair-trade chocolate is mixed together with dates and a handful of ingredients to form the base of the bark, then topped with sea salt and a generous sprinkling of either chopped peanuts or almonds. It contains no artificial sweeteners and is a good source of fiber, providing 14% of the daily value thanks to the dates and inulin, a prebiotic fiber found in plants like onions, chicory root, asparagus, and Jerusalem artichokes. 

The almond and peanut date barks first popped up on shelves at Gelson’s Markets, a premium grocer in Southern California, in September 2024. Since then, they’ve expanded to select retailers across the country, including Fareway and Whole Foods Market. You can also buy a two-pack of the flavors directly on Joydays’ website for just under $23, or go all-in on almond and get a case of six bags (which is currently on sale for $50). 

If you’re finding some chocolates to be a little on the sugary side, Joydays is for you. Multiple people commented on how “satisfying” this bark tastes. “It tastes super rich,” said Katie, our director of shopping content strategy, who “loved the peanut butter flavor.” 

“The sweet is balanced with the salty,” added Karis, our director of video, who was even more excited to learn she could “pronounce all the ingredients.” 

Another key component of any crowd-pleasing snack is the texture, and this one did not disappoint. Alex, our staff photographer said, the “dates add nice chew without making it all about being dates.” He also liked the thinness of the bark, which I agree really helped the crunchy-nutty bits shine.

Maya, our associate producer, took a bag of the peanut chocolate date bark home with her that night. Her boyfriend, who typically avoids sweets, “ended up eating more than me,” she said. He even “asked me to ‘steal’ more bags from the office.”

Buy: Joydays Chocolate Date Bark, $22.99 for 2 (3.88-ounce) bags at Joydays

What’s your go-to chocolate snack? Tell us about it in the comments below.

This post originally appeared on The Kitchn. See it there: Everyone Says These Not-Too-Sweet Chocolates Are the “Most Satisfying” Little Luxury