Dark Chocolate Raspberry Crunch

Recently, Costco started selling this amazing stuff they call Dark Chocolate Raspberry Chia Thins. Basically, it’s thin pieces of dark chocolate freeze dried raspberries and chia seeds. It is incredibly delicious.

The only problem is the chia seeds. You see, when chia seeds spend a little time in a wet environment, like your mouth, they become slimy. So although they add a delightful crunch while you’re eating the treat, an hour later, you’re picking little bits of snot out of your teeth.

This has a way of ruining the whole experience. I had been thinking about making my own with just the raspberries, but I really do like the crunch. I had thought about using chopped almonds, but that’s a different kind of crunch. Then, one morning I was sharing a poppy seed muffin with my mom and I finally had the answer. Poppy seeds could provide the crunchy texture without the subsequent slime problem.

Here’s what you’ll need: 

• Dark Chocolate (just over a pound)
• 1.2 ounces freeze dried raspberries
• 1 – 2 teaspoons poppy seeds 

For the chocolate, I absolutely love Trader Joe’s pound plus bars. I used the whole thing minus about 2 Tablespoons of shaved chocolate that wasn’t needed during tempering. And speaking of, the first thing you need to do is temper your chocolate. I have a whole post about how to do that here. Once you’ve done that, you should have something that looks like this.

I only used 1 teaspoon of poppy seeds, but if you want more crunch, it can certainly support 2.

Stir those in, and then it’s time for the raspberries. Once again, Trader Joes was where I got mine. They are a really good source for stuff like that.

Crush any of the whole berries inside the bag and remove the moisture thingy.

Then pour the raspberries into the chocolate.

Stir until everything is completely coated and evenly distributed.

Pour it only a parchment lined sheet pan (13x18 ish), scraping out every last drop, because trust me, you are not going to waste any of this.

Spread it until it’s about ¼ inch thick. It will probably just about fill the pan.

Now, as long as your house is not too warm, just walk away. If you’ve successfully tempered your chocolate, it will soon set and turn back into the consistency it was when you bought it.

Give it a few hours to let all those cocoa butter crystals finish doing their thing, and then just break it apart. I got my hands nice and cold under the tap and then dried them thoroughly and snapped the chocolate into small pieces.

I just love the bright pops of red! Isn't it beautiful? Prepare to be blown away by how incredibly delicious it is, as well! Costco’s got nothin’ on me!

It’s possible I’ve started something dangerously addictive. I’ve thought of all sorts of things you could do this with. I might try a white chocolate and mixed berry one next. You could use any variety of chocoate, add chopped coconut chips, any kind of nut… I’m afraid the possibilities are endless! What kinds of things do you think would be yummy?

Water with Apple Cinnamony Goodness

Does anyone actually drink as much water as they should? I know I certainly don’t. When there are so many options of things to drink, water just seems boring. Well, there are easy ways of making it not only more interesting, but delicious. Since it's apple season right now, I decided to make apple cinnamon water.

Here’s what you’ll need: 

• 1-2 apples
• 1 cinnamon stick 

Yep, that’s it. Just two ingredients. It really couldn’t be simpler. Drop your cinnamon stick into the bottom of a pitcher.

The variety of apple doesn’t really matter, just use whatever your favorite is. I would recommend using ones grown without pesticides, though. My apples were pretty small, so I used two, but if yours is bigger than mine, one should be plenty. Give it a good wash, then cut it into pieces something like this.

Drop the pieces on top of the cinnamon stick.

Ice isn’t strictly necessary, but I like to use it because it helps to keep the apples, which are very floaty, beneath the surface of the water.

Then just fill the pitcher the rest of the way with cold water and place it in the fridge overnight. The next day, you will have surprisingly delicious, apple cinnamon infused water.

What’s your favorite flavor of infused water?