Holiday baking: Chunky Chocolates

Okay, so technically this isn’t baking, but…whatever, you get the idea. This recipe came from my friend Trish, who brought them for the “cookie” exchange at our annual Christmas party. I didn’t actually participate in the cookie exchange but I plan the party so a few people usually bring me cookies anyway (yum!).

There’s a few great things about this recipe. First, it’s easy. Second, it’s ridiculously adaptable to your tastes. Last, they’re pretty darn tasty.

Here’s the base recipe from Trish:

12oz white or milk chocolate
1/2 c raisins
1/2 c Craisins
1/2 c cashews
1/2 c peanuts (I left out these)

In med. bowl melt chocolate in microwave (stirring once) for 45 secs (mine took 60 secs) stir in rest of ingredients

Spoon the mixture into flexible ice cube trays (I put mine in a mini muffin pan) whack the trays on the table to remove bubbles. Refrigerate until set, about 30 mins. Flex the trays to remove the candies

or

beat the mini muffin pan on the counter until they pop out

So here’s my notes:

* I used miniature candy cups (like baby muffin cups) and lined them up on a jelly roll plan, then used a cookie scoop to put them into the cups. This way, I didn’t have to worry about popping them out of anything, I just kept them in their cups.

* I played with a combination of ingredients, but found I liked a base of cashews and craisins best (I’m really not a fan of raisins). Just do whatever it takes to have a cup of nuts and a cup of dried fruit.

* Feel free to play around with different chocolates (milk, dark, semi-sweet, etc).

* You could easily add a tablespoon or two of peanut butter to the melted chocolate to change up the taste even more.

* Be creative with ingredients. I threw in some Heath bits to a small batch. They were good!

* These look fancier than the time you actually put into them, so they’re great to take to holiday parties!