Holiday gift giving 2015 will soon be in full swing and there are so many ways to make it easier and more personal. I am not much for shopping but I do love to make things. This is the first in a series I will post every so often during November and December. Easy edible food gifts to help get you through the Holidays with a sense of well-being and sharing.
My recipe, if you want to call it that, for “Chipotle-Dark Chocolate Studded with Pistachios, Cocoa-coated Almonds, Sea Salt, Espresso Powder & Cocoa Nibs/Cacao Nibs” is amazingly easy. It takes no special skills and it allows for lots of experimentation. The time for this batch was about 15 minutes! It doesn’t get any better than that! Don’t you feel more relaxed already?
Olive and Sinclair Mexican Chocolate bars melted with some Nestle’s Semi Sweet Chocolate Morsels in the top of a double boiler….
…poured out on a flat pan covered with parchment paper & spread around with a rubber spatula….
…dusted & studded with toppings.
A quick chill in the freezer for about 10 minutes and it is ready to break up into bite-size pieces.
The dusting of chipotle chili and dark espresso powders give this chocolate an indulgently intense flavor that will appeal to all your chocolate obsessed friends.
Place pieces in decorative tins or boxes for gift giving. Great host or hostess gifts.
Chipotle-Dark Chocolate Studded with Pistachios, Almonds, Sea Salt, Espresso Powder & Cocoa Nibs - Edible Gift Giving 2015
Ingredients:
- 8 ounces Olive & Sinclair Mexican Chocolate Bars (or any other bittersweet chocolate)
- 8 ounces Nestles semi-sweet chocolate chips (or other brand)
- Chipotle Powder to taste
- 1/2 cup pistachios, rough chopped
- 1/2 cup cocoa covered whole almonds or regular almonds, rough chopped
- 1 to 2 tbsp instant espresso powder
- flakey sea salt such as Maldon
- 2 tbsp cocoa nibs (optional)
Directions:
- Line a sheet pan with parchment. Gather and prep all ingredients before you start melting the chocolate.
- Melt chocolate in the top of double boiler pan until smooth and without any lumps.
- Remove from heat, wipe pan bottom with a kitchen towel and pour/scrape melted chocolate out onto the parchment paper. Smooth with a dry rubber spatula.
- Dust over the entire surface with chipotle powder. More or less to fit your palate. I like more.
- Dust with the espresso powder and sprinkle with pistachios, almonds, sea salt & cocoa nibs generously. Press larger nut pieces down into chocolate gently with fingers.
- Place pan in the freezer for about 10-15 minutes. Remove when chocolate is hard, break into pieces. Store pieces in airtight containers. Best made and gifted within a couple of days.
Note: I made this up on a whim using what I had in my pantry, but you can totally experiment and add chopped dried fruit, coconut flakes, white chocolate chips, black pepper, etc…
Teresa Blackburn teresablackburnfoodstyling.com foodonfifth.com
Omygoodness ! This must be ambrosia of the Gods!!!!
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Gosh thanks Joni, it was pretty good I must say…I took it to a photo shoot and it was gone in just a few minutes! Miss you and thanks.
Yes please love this!
Thanks as always Cheryl.
Yum-Teresa!
This looks great….I’m not a big sweets fan, but the chipotle-dark chocolate-espresso combo is very intriguing. Will definitely be giving this a try. Do you have an espresso powder that you would recommend?
Hi Rhonda, I just buy the jar of instant espresso powder that they have at Whole Foods, but I think Publixs has it now as well. It comes in handy when baking. Great added to chocolate chip cookie dough or a cake! let me know how yours turns out if and when you make it. Thanks much. T
I don¹t know what cocoa nibs are but the recipe looks divine. Thanks, Sylvia
Thanks for stopping by Sylvia. Cocoa Nib can be found on line or at most natural food stores. I will go back and add the sources to my post. Cocoa/Cacao nibs are dried bits of cacao beans, somewhat like coffee beans when chopped up. I used the brand, Navitas Naturals which can be found online at Vitacost.com.
Beautiful pics! cant wait to try this!
It is so easy and quick. Thanks for stopping by.
Gorgeous, and what a flavor combination it had to be….chocolate and chipotle? A marriage made in heaven I’d say. A wonderful Christmas gift for sure. I’m knitting up little dishcloths for gifts to my special friends, some of this lovely dark chocolate would go well with the dishcloths too, thanks for the brilliant idea 🙂
Loretta, great too hear from you. Sounds like you had a memorable trip to Memphis and i loved reading about it. Your little dishcloths sound like wonderful gifts as well. Happy November.
I am not a shopper either and prefer hand made gifts too! LOVE this bark Teresa and how versatile it is. Another of my whims: working with what’s in my pantry so the versatility completely appeals to me. Can it be frozen if made in advance? And for how long? Chipotle makes it totally modern and hip! Is chipotle powder easy to find?
Hi Johanne, most supermarkets and natural food shops have Chipotle Powder these days. If not it is certainly an online product. I am not sure about freezing but give it a try and let me know how it works. When I made it a few days ago it was gone within 24 hrs so I did not get a chance to experiment with storage ideas…maybe this coming weekend I will make it again and see.
ah
my mouth is watering
wonderful gift—who wouldn’t want some of this luscious bark?
Thanks my friend…who knows…this might show up at your house during the Holidays?
I hope one day I can steal your food from the computer screen
This is such a great idea and very easy to make!! I have to say that cocoa nibs and salt really make everything better. 🙂
This looks amazing! Pinning this and have to try it!
Much appreciated.
🙂
What’s not to love about these chocolate nibbles…whoever gets to enjoy them will be very happy.
Thanks so much Karen. So happy to hear from you. Hope you are well.