Dark Chocolate, Cherry Almond Bark

9:57 PM |

Hello Readers,

I hope you are all preparing for a memorable Holiday season. I received some e-mails lately asking why I have not been posting new recipes.

My husband was out of town for a week and I have been home alone with my toddler. I decided that for the month of December I was going to do some extreme workouts to build up my body muscle. I have been doing a combination of resistance training and cardio. My diet consists of lean protein and vegetables. For the entire week I did not even eat any meat. I was practically vegetarian.

My meals were very nutritious and simple. There was nothing worth photographing or blogging about. I have been thinking about making some treats for some of my friends and family. Today I found the following recipe on Yahoo Health. Like any treat the calorie count is high. But it contains a lot of good fats, vitamin e, and omega fatty acids.

This recipe can be made as clusters or as bark. I think the bark looks much better.

Almond-cherry-chocolate bark

Chocolaty almonds are better than a gift certificate for a facial. Vitamin E in the nuts gives skin a healthy glow, and chocolate—well, do we really need to sell you on that? Makes 24 pieces

Heat oven to 350°.
On a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, toast 1 cup whole skin-on almonds until fragrant and light gold, 8 to 10 minutes. Let cool completely; transfer to a bowl.
Fill a medium saucepan with 1 inch water; bring to a simmer over medium-low heat. Set a large heatproof bowl atop saucepan, making sure water doesn’t touch bottom of bowl.
Place 10 oz dark chocolate (60 percent to 70 percent cocoa) in bowl; cook, stirring, until smooth.
Remove bowl from saucepan; add another 2 oz dark chocolate and stir until smooth.
Stir in tsp pure vanilla extract, toasted almonds and 1/3 cup dried tart cherries, coarsely chopped.
Pour onto baking sheet; spread into an even layer about inch thick. Refrigerate until firm, 1 hour. Break into 24 pieces.

THE DISH: 237 calories per 2 pieces, 15 g fat (7 g saturated), 21 g carbs, 3 g fiber, 4 g protein

Naomi Recommends: Drizzling some white chocolate or dark chocolate over the sheets before breaking. Mix it up a big by adding other types of dried fruit: blueberries, raspberries, banana..or what ever you fancy.