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Back Country Clusters – Paleo

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I’m not a chocolatey person. I never have been. I would always take the vanilla ice cream or yellow cake or the fruity desserts over anything with chocolate. Maybe that was weird, but it’s just what I did. Actually, I say I’m not (currently) a chocolatey person, but I think I might be converting. I’ve noticed I tend to choose that over most other treats now. Oh my gosh, does that mean I’m getting old? Even worse, I really, like really, love dark chocolate. Uh oh…

Back Country Clusters | Our Paleo Life

I suppose I better embrace it. The gray hairs have been around for over a decade (darn genetics, but I still love you, mom), and I’m starting to get laugh lines and I worry about the way the skin on my hands look, but at least I love chocolate.

Speaking of getting old and chocolate, I found something awesome on Pinterest a few weeks ago. I was looking for a dry shampoo option for post-gym and in-between hair washing, but didn’t like most of the DIY options because I have dark hair (with stupid white roots) and the last thing I needed was some white powder to make me look like I had even more white hair. Then I came across one that added cocoa powder and I was like “heck yes!”. Rob couldn’t believe I was putting chocolate in my hair but dirty hair don’t care.

I dabbed that stuff on and not only did it make my hair not look so after-the-gym grody, but it actually disguised my gray roots just a bit. Double score. So yeah, say what you want, but cocoa is not only made for eating.

Back Country Clusters | Our Paleo Life

And I guess I should give credit where credit is due. I 100% did not come up with this recipe. Rob is always looking for new treat and snack ideas, and this one is yet again another brain child of his. Luckily for him, he’s got a super awesome wife that knows her way around the kitchen and can make his dreams a reality. We’re talking about food here, people.

These are really simple to make, and if you buy a nut-seed-fruit mix (like in the bulk section at Whole Foods), then half the work is already done for you.

Back Country Clusters | Our Paleo Life
Back Country Clusters | Our Paleo Life

Back Country Clusters

Yield: 12
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes

Trail mix is so last year. Chocolate dipped clusters are what's in right now. Or do you not follow food style trends? Yeah, me neither, but these things are so good and so much more fun to eat than trail mix, so why not make them?

Ingredients

  • 3 cups Nut/Seed/Dried Fruit Mix*, make your own or buy a pre-made mix -- make sure it's no-salt and no-sugar added though
  • 1/2 cup Honey
  • 1/2 tsp Sea Salt, if your nut/seed/fruit mix has salt, reduce this to about 1/4 tsp
  • 1/2 tsp Cinnamon
  • 1/2 cup Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips
  • 1 tsp Vegan Shortening

Nut/Seed/Dried Fruit Mix (any combination of the following):

  • Pumpkin Seeds
  • Sunflower Seeds
  • Hemp Seeds
  • Sesame Seeds
  • Almonds
  • Cashews
  • Pecans
  • Walnuts
  • Hazelnuts
  • Dried Blueberries
  • Dried Cranberries
  • Raisins
  • Dried Strawberries
  • Anything else you can dream up!

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
  2. In a large bowl, combine all ingredients except chocolate chips. Stir to combine everything evenly.
  3. Pour the nut mixture onto the prepared baking sheet and spread it out so it's about 1/2" thick. Try to keep it away from the edges, as the honey will spread.
  4. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes.
  5. Remove and let cool completely on a wire rack.
  6. Once it's completely cool and hardened, break the nuts into clusters.
  7. Melt the chocolate chips and shortening in the microwave in 30 second increments, stirring until smooth.
  8. Dip the bottom of each cluster in the melted chocolate, pressing down so it comes up the sides just a little bit.
  9. Set chocolate-dipped cluster on a piece of parchment. Once all clusters are dipped, put them in the fridge for a few minutes to harden the chocolate. Store in an airtight container.

Notes

I am baking at a high elevation (6,000ft above sea level). Boiling and candy baking times are shorter up here. In order to have your honey harden enough to make these clusters work at lower elevations/sea level, you may need to add a couple minutes to your bake time. Just keep an eagle eye on them to be sure they don't burn towards the end.

Nutrition Information
Yield 12 Serving Size 1 cluster
Amount Per Serving Calories 318Total Fat 22gSaturated Fat 5gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 16gCholesterol 0mgSodium 294mgCarbohydrates 29gFiber 4gSugar 21gProtein 8g

Nutrition is calculated by a third party and may not be 100% accurate

Please share:

Lynette

Monday 4th of April 2016

Add a tiny bit of coconut oil to the chocolate chips. Tastes amazing!

Leni

Sunday 18th of October 2015

Delicious! But do you have a trip to making the chocolate harden after you dip them? If they sit in air temperature my chocolate does not hold together? I used 1/2 baking chocolate and 1/2 chocolate chips? Thanks for the recipe! @paleopassions

Bridgette

Thursday 13th of August 2015

great treat, or dessert! made my house smell so YUMMY!

liza

Friday 12th of June 2015

My honey burnt a little in the pan.

jlc

Sunday 26th of April 2015

The honey doesn't cause the paper to stick to the nut mixture?

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