Chili Lime Macadamia Chocolate Bark
If you're looking for a delish / healthy / easy af dessert, I've got just the thing for you. This recipe takes minimal ingredients, time, and brainpower - and it tastes like one of those fancy designer chocolates that you'd pay $15 a bar for.I always have the ingredients for this on hand because I make it a ton - and usually bring it for the awesome humans in my essential oils workshops to snack on.
Because of that, people are constantly asking me for the recipe - and since I'm not really a recipe sort of chick, I'm always just saying things like, "Ummm, I don't know, melt some chocolate, add a handful of this, a few shakes of that..." and I'm pretty sure that's not helpful for their future chocolate bark making needs. So I figured it'd be nice if I put some sort of loose structure around how to make this so peeps can recreate it at home.
Not only does this bark taste like a party in your mouth (legit) - it has serious health benefits too:
- The dark choc packs a mean antioxidant punch, boosts brain function, and supports healthy cholesterol and blood pressure levels.
- Macadamia nuts support the health of the brain, nervous system, gut, bones, and heart while lowering inflammation levels and promoting weight loss.
- Cayenne pepper supports detoxification, metabolism, weight loss, digestion, immunity and reduces pain.
- Lime essential oil (make absolutely sure the brand you're using is safe for internal use) supports healthy immune function, promotes detoxification and cleansing, and uplifts mood and energy levels.
- Himalayan sea salt has a bazillion benefits, too - check 'em out here.
See, not all dessert is bad for you! Also, feel free to change up the ingredients however you'd like - use different nuts, different seasonings, or different essential oils (like ginger, peppermint, wild orange, or cinnamon). It takes effort to mess this up, so experiment to your heart's content, and get ready to seriously impress the peeps you're serving it to.
Ingredients: (Always organic, if possible)
4 bars (14 oz) of dark chocolate (I usually use 72%)
1 cup macadamia nuts
Cayenne pepper
Lime essential oil (I use dōTERRA, as it's safe for internal use)
Himalayan sea salt
Directions:
Break up bars of chocolate into chunks and put them in a double boiler, stir intermittently as it melts
Meanwhile, cover a baking sheet with wax or parchment paper, then roughly chop macadamia nuts and set them aside
After the chocolate has melted, take the bowl off the pot of boiling water and set to the side
Stir in the chopped macadamia nuts
Add in as much cayenne pepper as you want (it's really all about how much spice you like) and stir - I don't measure this at all, I just add and taste until it reaches a good level of spiciness
Ensure the chocolate has cooled a bit and about 7-8 drops of lime essential oil and stir (I also do this to taste - you may like a little more or less)
Pour the mixture onto the baking sheet and spread out in a single layer
Pop in the fridge so it hardens (after about 10-15 min, before it's hardened, I'll pull it out and sprinkle Himalayan sea salt all over the top and then pop it back in the fridge - this helps the salt stick to the chocolate)
Once it's solid, take it out of the fridge, peel off the wax/parchment paper, break into chunks, and serve!