Chocolate Turtles
If you like dates, you'll love this healthier version of chocolate turtles.
Chocolate Turtles
Soaked and dehydrated, organic pecans
2 Tbsp. organic, coconut oil or cacao butter, melted
2 Tbsp. organic, raw cacao powder
2 Tbsp. pure, organic maple syrup, or raw honey
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
Pinch salt
In a small bowl, gently melt coconut oil, or cacao butter in a double boiler, a bowl suspended over a pan of hot water, or in a dehydrator.
Measure and sift cacao powder through a fine mesh strainer into the coconut oil.
Add sweetener, vanilla and salt.
Place 3 pecans on a tray lined with parchment paper.
Place about a teaspoon of date paste on the pecans.
Drizzle the chocolate sauce over the date paste.
Repeat until you have as many as desired.
Place turtles in the fridge to allow the chocolate to firm up
Store in the fridge until serving.
These will store for a day or two in the fridge.
TIPS
Coconut oil has a melting point of 76 degrees Fahrenheit, so it's best to keep turtles in the fridge until serving, to keep the chocolate firm.
Healthy coconut oil should taste like... coconut, otherwise it has been refined and likely chemically deodorized. If this does not appeal to you, use raw cacao butter instead. Cacao butter will take longer to melt.
The great thing about this recipe is, you don't have to worry about tempering, or the chocolate seizing up if it gets a drop of water in it etc.
For a more dark chocolate flavor, add less sweetener.
If the chocolate is too thin, either wait for it to cool just a bit, or use an immersion blender, which will thicken it up just a bit.
The reason why I suggest gently heating the coconut oil, is to keep the raw cacao at a lower temperature when it is added, to maintain the nutrients; however, if you find the taste is a bit chalky, heat the coconut oil up to a slightly higher temperature.