I love giving homemade gifts to teachers and friends for the holidays. There is so much inspiration online, that I find it to be fun planning out what I'm going to make every year. This year I went with chocolate in a few different variations because I love it and find that most everyone else does too! Below are two of my recipes, and some additional ideas for great homemade gifts.
Fruit Chocolate Bark
I love chocolate, and I thought it would be a fun twist to add something a little bit healthy to it. Try out this recipe that incorporates superfoods in the form of goji berries. Feel free to substitute my toppings and add what you'd like. I think pepitas, chia seeds and/or dried apricots would be great with this.
Ingredients
3 cups of dark chocolate chips (I used Ghiradelli 60% bittersweet)
1/3 cup dried goji berries
1 teaspoon coarse sea salt
1/3 cup sliced raw almonds
Instructions
Fills 3 small mason jars
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Melt the chocolate in the microwave in 20 second increments until melted, stirring between each one
- Pour the chocolate out onto the parchment paper and smooth down with a spatula.
- Sprinkle toppings onto the chocolate
- Break into chunks and store in airtight container
Vitamin-Packed Homemade Nutella Spread
This chocolate spread is the real deal. Hazlenuts are filled with fiber and healthy fats to support your body's digestive process. They are also rich in vitamin E, which supports healthy hair, nails and skin. Who doesn't want that?!
The chocolate comes from cacao powder. You've probably heard about the benefits of chocolate. Really, it's cacao that has those amazing properties. Cacao has amazing nutrients in its raw, unprocessed state and contains such vitamins as iron, fiber, calcium, zinc, potassium and antioxidents. Who needs Nutella when you can have this healthy version so easily at home?!
Ingredients
Makes 1 Jar
2 cups of hazelnuts
1/2 a cup of water (if needed)
1/2 cup of pure maple syrup
3 tablespoons of raw cacao powder
Instructions
- Bake the hazelnuts at 350F for about 10-15 minutes. Allow to cool after baking
- Once cool, add to a food processor and blend for about until completely ground 2-3 minutes. Be sure to really grind them up.
- Add maple syrup and cacao, then blend again. Make sure all these ingredients are completely mixed.
- Add water to make the consistency less thick. Keep adding water little by little until it's the consistency you'd like.
Additional Ideas
