Some mornings I wake up inspired to try something new. I don’t know if it’s because of a good sleep, or a dream about baking, or what… but I love when it happens – especially Sunday mornings.
That’s the time when I usually have the chance to hang out in my kitchen with some tunes and go wild. When the inspiration is flowing, I’m throwing together ingredients left, right and centre to see if whatever combo I put together will eventually make what I imagined. Sometimes it works, and other times it doesn’t. But that’s life right? And baking/cooking.
But when I made these chocolate nut clusters for the first time, I knew they’d be a hit. They’re simple, delicious and super easy to make.
Firstly, they require very minimal ingredients, little effort, and are a one-bowl operation. That’s right – they’re no-bake too so you don’t even need to turn on the oven! Not to mention the fact that they’re gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan and refined-sugar free for those with specific dietary preferences.
Basically you make your own homemade chocolate, throw nuts in the mix, scoop them out onto a baking sheet, and then freeze them until the chocolate has solidified. And there you have it! Easy, simple and absolutely delicious chocolate nut clusters!
- 1/3 cup cacao powder
- 1/3 cup melted coconut oil
- 3 tbsp maple syrup
- 1 tbsp almond butter
- 2-3 cups of raw nuts, can include cashews, almonds, walnuts, etc.
- Sesame, sunflower or pumpkin seeds if you'd like to add seeds to your nut mix.
- Dried fruit (goji berries, unsweetened cranberries) to add to the nut clusters for a bit of added sweetness.
- Sea salt, to top the chocolate nut clusters.
- Combine all ingredients in a glass bowl to make the chocolate. Mix thoroughly until it's well combined.
- Add in your mixed nuts, one cup at a time, and stir to ensure that they are all covered. If you'd like very chocolatey nut clusters, add fewer nuts. If you'd like less chocolate, add more nuts. This is where you get to customize your nut clusters to be exactly how you want them. I added a couple handfuls of each almonds and cashews into mine.
- If the mixture is still very thin (liquidy), put it in the fridge for about five minutes. When you take it out, the chocolate should have started hardening a little.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and begin spooning the chocolate-nut mix in small clusters onto the parchment paper.
- Top the nut clusters with a sprinkle of sea salt if you wish. Then place them flat in the freezer for about 30 minutes to 1 hour.
- Remove them from the freezer and serve, or transfer to a glass container and store in the freezer up to 1 month, or in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Follow