The Spunky Coconut

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Halloween Candy (gluten free & dairy free)

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We have been spending a lot of time in Estes Park and Rocky Mountain National Park lately. Here is a picture from 2 weeks ago there.

In the spirit of Halloween, I decided we would have a contest. We made 3 kinds of chocolate clusters, then in a notebook, gave each one to five stars. Orange Apricot Clusters were the winner. This is due to the fact that it was the favorite of both Zoe and I. Andy, on the other hand, detests anything that is orange flavored, other than oranges themselves. His favorite was Cherry, while Zoe and I preferred Coffee over Cherry. Ashley loved them all.

It was really fun and easy making our own “Halloween candy,” and much healthier. I can tell you we wont be waiting till next October to make these again! By buying (dairy free) dark chocolate I can control the kind and amount of sweetener. It’s nice to know the kids aren’t eating candy that’s full of refined sugar and corn syrup, which, despite recent commercials, is really bad for you. Let us know if you try some yourself!

Orange Apricot Clusters

Melt 1/2 cup 72% dark chocolate in a double boiler (a bowl sitting on top of a pot of simmering water). Once it is just melted, remove from heat and add:
1 tbs coconut oil
2 tbs honey
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 drop of orange extract (I like to drop the orange extract onto a spoon away from the bowl, just in case. Last week I accidentally poured it directly over a bowl and ruined the whole thing.)
Stir to combine.
Add:
3/4 cup slivered almonds
1/2 dried chopped apricots
Mix the ingredients. Drop teaspoon sized bites onto a cookie sheet lined with unbleached parchment paper. Refrigerate.
Once they are solid they can be removed from the cookie sheet and stored (in the refrigerator) in a container with a lid.
Variations:
Coffee – Substitute apricots with chopped, pitted dates, and orange extract with 1/4 tsp coffee extract.
Cherry – Substitute apricots with dried cherries, and hold the orange extract.
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Comments

  1. Which Chocolate did you use? Do you know if you have to be careful when buying chocolate (regarding gluten)? I always eat the Enjoy Life brand because I know it’s safe. Actually, they have a dark chocolate bar now.. and one with rice crisps in it. It is so yum….

  2. I can’t remember which one it was, I just made sure to read the ingredients. I also love Enjoy Life (though it isn’t what I used this time), and I’m sure it would work, but you probably wouldn’t need honey or any sweetener if you used the chips.

  3. These sound so yummy, I will surely make these too. I love how the coconut oil makes the chocolate extra yummy.

  5. Hello, found your blog while doing a search for sugar/gluten/casein free recipes online. I really love looking over your recipes!

    I have two questions, in most of your recipes can I substitute honey with xylitol? I know in some or most cases that is probably not a problem my on your brittle candy?-I have a sever candida issue and honey at this point is out of the question!

    Also do you buy from a food co-op because I can tell from the ingredients these recipes can get costly if buying from my local health market.

    Thanks,
    Faith

  6. Hi Faith!

    I think that should be no problem. I too love xylitol. If the recipes seem a little dry from leaving out the honey/agave, just add a little coconut oil or water, depending on the dish.

    I buy coconut oil in bulk, and I save a lot that way. There’s a link in the column on the right column. Also, our health food store, Vitamin Cottage, has really good prices on nuts and I buy things on sale. But I know other people who get the same great prices by co-op.

    Also, our credit card is an Amazon credit card. So like some people get frequent flier miles, we get points for Amazon instead. When I get my points I buy Vitol Egg Protein powder, and other things I use. -they have everything now days!

    Can’t wait to hear from you again!

    Cheers, Kelly

  7. I almost forgot – my new love – Costco! hahaha! They have huge almond butters – like two for the price of one. And organic wild rice, and organic carrots, apples, peaches, broccoli. Oh, and my kids and husband are wild about the Bear Raw organic granola. They eat a bag of that every week now 🙂 They even have the eggs there that I was buying at the health food store! Wahoo! I get 18 for the price of a dozen at the health food store!

  8. Sounds wonderful! I don’t think I need to wait for Halloween to make them though:) Ruining the candy by measuring over the bowl is hilarious. I’ve done it way too many times but still haven’t learned my lesson!