As much as I’d love to take all the credit for this genius idea, it actually belongs to an ex-employer of mine, Gearhart’s Chocolates in Virginia. See, I worked for a few months in Charlottesville, VA making chocolate (and gaining weight due to eating chocolate!) It was an amazing experience and opened my eyes to what artisan chocolates are – handmade, detailed, delicious confections. With bread being in first place, chocolates & confections come in a close second as my favorite items to make.
See, at Gearhart’s we made Chai Spiced Chocolate Dipped Pecans. They were so carefully made and packaged, that we only packaged WHOLE pecans, meaning a few did break in the process. And those were the ones we got to take home. We also took home the “ugly” chocolate truffles. The ones that weren’t perfect, the ones that were scuffed. They were still delicious and needed love, so I was glad to give them that loving!
Ingredients
- Walnuts shelled and whole
- semi-sweet or milk chocolate chips or chocolate bars chopped
- equal parts: powdered sugar and unsweetened cocoa powder
- chai spice powder to taste
Instructions
- Melt the chocolate however you want. If you're using the microwave, make sure to check it every 15-20 seconds. Easiest way is to just simmer some water in a pot, place chocolate in metal or glass bowl, and throw the bowl on top of the pot to slowly melt.
- Sift together the powdered sugar, cocoa powder, and chai spice powder. Reserve.
- Place walnuts in a large bowl and drizzle in the melted chocolate. Toss until all walnuts are coated. Dump the sifted sugar mixture over the walnuts and mix! It's done with all the walnuts are evenly coated with both chocolate and a top coat of powdery goodness.
- Layer walnuts on a sheet tray and let dry for 30 minutes to an hour. Keep in an airtight container on your desk and snack on them daily!
Notes
How many walnuts? As much as you want to make!
Why didn't you roast the walnuts? Because I wanted to keep the balance of flavors - toasting the walnuts would be great as well, but I like them raw.
How much chocolate? Enough to evenly coat the walnuts. For example, 2 cups of walnuts might need 2 melted bars of chocolate. It all depends on the size of your walnuts and how the chocolate sticks to your walnuts.
These look very good! I have never seen this type of ‘nut snack’ before. Definitely going to try this!
MUST.MAKE.ASAP! Oh, my, yum!!!
Mmmmm these sound tasty!
Oh I am all about these! Love!!
These look great. I’m always trying to hide yummy food from myself but it doesn’t work. I know where I hid it. 😉
These chai spiced choco walnuts sure sound addictive. I won’t be able to stop once I start. And yet I have bookmarked it – definitely making these soon. Thanks for the recipe. Love your new blog design. Totally user-friendly and so sleek, so hip. Congrats!
I seriously want a big bowl of these right now!!!! Yum!!!! Hugs, Terra
Wow these look wonderful! Spiced nuts are a great snack!