Now being from the UK I looked at Zeba’s original recipe and thought ‘Oh oh! How much is a cup?’  I don’t have to convert everything do I?’  (Do you look at my recipes and think Aaargh, not those blasted grams again!?)  The tablespoons and teaspoons are fine – yes, we have spoons too where I’m from. They just have funny British accents.

A British tablespoon

Then I thought, well this kind of recipe can handle improvisation so I’ll use a European grandma-like ‘handful’ system.  Other changes I made was adding ginger but less honey and no shredded coconut, plus I had no pumpkin seeds.  And I was running out of coconut oil so used less!  Luckily I was still happy from eating an earlier batch of cocoa bites so didn’t panic.  It was a case of KEEP CALM AND USE WHATEVER YOU HAVE!  You’re welcome to follow the same system. 🙂

Oh, and the brackets around (organic) and (raw) are there if you have the non-organic and non-raw stuff, like I did for batch number one.  Still delicious.  For batch number two I used organic then discovered the honey was surprisingly sweeter and the coconut oil taste stronger!  So my advice is put in less honey and coconut oil at first, add everything else then check at the end if you need to add more honey or coconut.  It depends on your ingredients and personal taste.

HEAVENLY COCOA BITES (if you make knobbly shapes)

or SLICES OF HEAVEN (in a tray then sliced)

Recipe

Wet stuff (stir to combine)

• 6 tablespoons (organic) almond butter (I imagine peanut butter works but is stronger tasting and less healthy)
• 1 and a half to 2 and a half tbsp (organic) coconut oil
• 1 to 1 and a half tbsp (raw organic) honey (to taste – you might like more)
• Half tsp pure vanilla extract (essence)

Dry stuff (whisk to combine)

• 2 tbsp (raw) unsweetened cocoa powder
• Good pinch of salt (fleur de sel or sea salt)

1.  Stir to combine the wet and dry stuff in a medium bowl.

2.  Add these ingredients (adapt the suggested quantities to suit your taste) and stir well:

• sliced almonds (three handfuls)
• dried cranberries mixed with golden berries, finely chopped (two handfuls)
• sunflower seeds (one handful)
  
• 1 to 1 and a half ball(s) stem ginger, finely chopped – optional and to taste (or a little grated fresh ginger)   

Stir well to combine and do a taste check

3.  If you’re happy with your mixture, spoon and flatten with the back of a metal spoon into a chocolate mould, tray or loaf tin. You can press almond flakes on top of the loaf tin batch.

4.  Store in the fridge a few hours before unmoulding and cutting then eating (yes, test earlier if you like).  It will keep in tupperware for weeks in the fridge or 3 days in my case.  But it starts melting if kept out of the fridge.

Heavenly cocoa bites – or knobbly ducks!

5.  Please visit Zeba at Food for the Soul to check out her original slices of heaven WONDERFUL RECIPE which is in cups and will give you more ideas for ingredients.  Thank you Zeba!!! 🙂

WARNING:  SELF-RESTRAINT WILL NEED TO BE EXERCISED!

COCOA BITES WILL NOT SELF-DESTRUCT IF LEFT ALONE IN THE FRIDGE!

Help yourself to a heavenly cocoa bite or slice!

Hope you enjoyed these little pieces of heaven!  I bid you a happy and cocoa-induced ecstatic farewell sweet reader!  And wish you great general happiness this week, a nice floaty soft happiness achieved with or without cocoa!!!  🙂 x