Chocolate Quinoa Crisps
/Gluten Free - Dairy Free - Refined Sugar Free - Tasty Full
When I was a child, I didn't eat a lot of candy. It just wasn't found in our house (thanks mom and dad!). However, when I did get the occasional treat of a fun size candy bar at Halloween, Valentine's, or Easter, I found myself drawn to Butterfinger (damn you, Bart Simposon!), Crunch, and 100 Grand bars. The common factor in all three of these was chocolate with a nice crunch.
If you find yourself enjoying sweets with a little bit of crunch then these Chocolate Quinoa Crisps are your ticket to Crunch Town. Have fun with this recipe. It allows you to make the chocolate as crunchy as you'd like, while leaving room for adding any flavors that you enjoy to change it up once in awhile (i.e. peppermint, almond extract, honey, coconut, nut butter, etc.).
The way this recipe gets its crunch is by using puffed quinoa. This can be purchased at the grocery store (typically in the bagged cereal section) or made at home by dry heating the quinoa to pop/puff, giving it a lighter texture. I typically buy puffed quinoa because it's a lot easier, less time consuming, and leaves less room for error (i.e. burning) than making it myself.
Chocolate Quinoa Crisps
Prep time: 10 min., Freezer time: 20 min., Total time: 30 min.
Makes: ~24 Crisps
Ingredients:
- ¼ cup unrefined/extra virgin coconut oil
- ¼ cup cacao butter*
- 2 Tbs. unsweetened almond butter
- ¼ cup maple syrup or raw honey
- ½ cup raw cacao powder
- ~1/4-1/2 cup puffed quinoa (to your desired crunch factor)
- Optional: add peppermint extract, almond extract, or coconut flakes, etc. to match a desired flavor of choice
Directions:
- In a double boiler over low heat, melt the coconut oil and cacao butter. Whisk to combine and prevent boiling or burning.
- Once the coconut oil and cacao butter have completely melted, add the almond butter and maple syrup. Whisk until all is melted and well combined. Be mindful that the steam/water does not enter the chocolate mixture at any point or it will ruin your batch making it gooey/snotty (nobody wants snotty chocolate).
- Remove from heat and add cacao powder. Whisk until smooth and creamy. Add puffed quinoa to meet your desired crunch factor.
- Scoop chocolate mixture into molds (or lined mini muffin tins) and place in the freezer for ~20 minutes or until completely solid.
- Pop the chocolates out of their molds and store in an airtight container in the freezer. Remove a couple of minutes before wanting to indulge.
Pro Tips
*Swap: if you don’t have cacao butter, you can still make the chocolate by replacing with equal parts coconut oil. The cacao butter makes for a creamier, thicker, heat stable chocolate, so be mindful that using solely coconut oil will affect the texture and make for a melty chocolate on your fingers.
Prep: these can be made days in advance to save time on the day of serving.
Storage: these chocolates are made with coconut oil, so they will melt easily if left out on the counter too long. The refrigerator or freezer is your best bet for keeping a nice solid chocolate.
What are/were some of your favorite chocolate bars that you would like to see healthified? Leave your suggestions in the comments section below.
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