Salty-sweet snack balls made from good-for-you ingredients, barely adapted from The Art of Eating Well.
Ingredients
For the salted apricot caramels
250g organic, unsulphered apricots
generous pinch sea salt
80g coconut oil, room temperature (i.e. not melted)
2 tbsp hot water
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
For the homemade chocolate
200g cocoa butter
12 tbsp raw cacao or cocoa powder
3 tbsp + 1 tsp runny honey
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
Instructions
In a food processor, combine the apricots, salt, coconut oil, water and vanilla and blitz until smooth. Transfer to a small container and freeze for 10 minutes.
Line a tray with baking parchment. Remove your container from the freezer and use a teaspoon to scoop out enough apricot mixture to make small balls, about 1.5cm in diameter. Roll between your palms until smooth then place on the prepared tray. Return the tray to the freezer for 20 minutes.
To make the chocolate, melt the cocoa butter in a heatproof bowl suspended over a pan of barely simmering water, reserving a couple of small chunks. Once melted remove from the heat and add the reserved cocoa butter. Whisk in the cacao powder, honey and vanila until smooth then set aside to cool slightly.
To coat the balls, use two teaspoons to dip one at a time in the chocolate then return to the baking parchment lined tray. Allow to firm up for a minute or two (because the balls are semi-frozen, the chocolate will solidify quickly) then dip a second time. Allow to firm up then store in the fridge until ready to eat.
Recipe by thelittleloaf at http://www.thelittleloaf.com/2015/01/12/salted-apricot-caramels/