Hello, I’m Natalie!  I’m a professionally-trained chef and culinary instructor.  A career change, a trip through culinary school 20 years ago, and being a lifelong Julia Child enthusiast has led me to a career doing my very favorite thing:  making food and cooking approachable to home cooks of all ages!   

My passion for creating great food experiences and getting people excited about learning and having fun in the kitchen is always at the heart of what I do.  I teach virtual adult and family cooking classes through Ann Arbor Rec & Ed (new family Spring classes coming soon!), as well as my own private cooking classes and corporate events.  You can find me on social media at @NatalieMarbleCooks and can sign up for my bi-weekly email newsletter here, where I share family-friendly recipes, tips & tricks, new class information, and hopefully a little inspiration!

This month I’m sharing a healthy-ish snack that is easy enough for kids to make and fun to be completely creative with as different local fruits come in and out of season.  Think frozen yogurt meets granola bar.  The best part?  No special equipment is required and you probably already have most of the ingredients at home right now.

Frozen Yogurt Bark

Crust

1 ¾ c. oats

1 tsp. Cinnamon

1 tsp. Salt

1 c. nut or seed butter of your choice

½ c. honey

1 tsp. Vanilla

2 c. nuts, seeds, coconut, dried fruit, in any combination

Topping

1 large container of whole milk Greek yogurt

¼ c. honey

2 tsp. Vanilla

Zest of an orange

2 cups of fruit of your choice

Fresh mint leaves

1. Prepare a 9×13 pan or a regular sheet pan by placing parchment paper crosswise, so that the ends of the parchment paper stick up above the sides of the pan (this allows you to easily lift the bark out of the pan when it is frozen).
2. Prepare the crust by combining the oats, cinnamon, salt, nut or seed butter, honey and vanilla in a bowl and mix well.
3. Add the 2 cups of your choice of mix-ins (nuts, seeds, coconut, etc.) to a food processor and pulse until they are well chopped.  
4. Add these mix-ins to the bowl of other ingredients and mix them until everything is well combined.
5. Press firmly into your prepared pan, so that you have a compact base layer – you can use a measuring cup or something with a flat bottom to help press the crust into place – and set aside. *Note: depending on the size of pan you use, you can press the base to your desired thickness.
6. To make the topping, whisk the yogurt with the honey, vanilla and orange zest until well combined.
7. Spread the yogurt over the crust in an even layer.
8. Top with cut up fruit (small berries can be left whole) and torn mint leaves.
9. Freeze overnight.
10. Remove from the freezer, and gently lift the bark from the pan by pulling up both sides of the parchment paper and transfer it to a cutting board.  Cut into random pieces, as you would chocolate bark.
11. Leave pieces that you’re going to eat right away out for a few minutes to thaw just a little.  The remaining pieces can be kept in an air-tight container in the freezer to enjoy at any time!

*Notes: Don’t eat gluten?  Feel free to substitute gluten-free oats.  Don’t eat nuts?  Feel free to substitute seed butter and other mix-ins (dried fruit, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, more oats, graham cracker crumbs, pretzels, etc.).  Don’t eat dairy?  Feel free to substitute a dairy-free yogurt.