I always like to joke about chocolate being a food group. It comes from the cacao bean, so it must be a vegetable, right? Ok, maybe not. Maybe it would be better to make some fruit and nut clusters to get a healthier treat.
These chocolate fruit and nut clusters are very easy to make, and as chocolate treats go, are on the healthy side. Nuts in moderation are pretty good for you. Unless you’re allergic, in which case, don’t try this one.
This gives you your sweet and salty fix in one go, along with a great crunch. If you’re trying to eat less chocolate, this will give you a bit of chocolate for that urge, but a larger portion of nuts.
These are super easy to make because you just choose a trail mix. I suggest that the trail mix not have really large nuts such as Brazil nuts to make them easier to eat. The trail mix also doesn’t need to have chocolate chips or M&Ms in it. Just nuts and dried fruit such as raisins or cranberries. I prefer dried cranberries for this recipe. The flavor goes better with chocolate.
You could also go with a single type of nut, such as peanuts or almonds. I prefer the variation you get with trail mix. You could also make your own mix by selecting your favorite nuts and dried fruits.
The mix I used includes dried cranberries, golden raisins, cashews, pepitas, sunflower seeds and almonds.
Adding in some coconut oil will make the chocolate a little thinner. This is good if you want a thin coat on the trail mix. Using coconut oil will mean that the finished chocolates should stay in the fridge. If it’s warm in your house, you’ll probably want to keep the chocolates in there anyhow.
I didn’t measure anything out for this recipe. It’s fairly easy to eyeball how much trail mix goes into the melted chocolate. If you put in too much trail mix, you just melt more chocolate and add it in.
Once it’s all mixed up, spoon up small clusters. How big depends on the look you’re going for. I go for small. They’re super quick snacks that way. You can use miniature cupcake wrappers to hold larger clusters, which is a great look for gifts or when you’re sharing with company. You don’t want people handling multiple pieces of chocolate when you’re sharing with a group.
- 10 oz 60% cacao chocolate
- 1-2 tsp coconut oil optional
- 2 cups trail mix
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Chop chocolate into small pieces. Melt in microwave in microwave safe bowl in 30 second increments until thoroughly melted, or melt in double boiler. If using coconut oil, melt with the chocolate. Total melt time should be about 2 minutes in the microwave, but may vary.
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Mix in trail mix. Stir until trail mix is thoroughly coated.
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Cover baking sheet with parchment paper. Spoon small portions of mix into piles on baking sheet. Refrigerate or freeze until solid.
