Hazelnut Cacao Bark Sugar Free Recipes

HAZELNUT CACAO BARK (SUGAR FREE)

Steps:

• 1. Warm the coconut oil in a medium saucepan. Don't boil it. If it's cold in your house make sure it gets fairly warm because it will solidify very quickly.
• 2. I ground the cacao and Xylitol until fine powder. The cacao was a powder but it had lumps, the Xylitol is very gritty. The bark tastes better if you grind these two ingredients really fine. Carefully add all of the ingredients into the warm coconut oil. Stir well to combine. Keep warm.
• 3. Cut a piece of parchment paper to fit in the bottom of a 8x11 1/2 inch cookie sheet with 1" sides. Pour the warmed mixture onto the parchment paper. The bark will be about 1/4" thick, the smaller the pan, the thicker the bark.
• 4. Put the pan in the freezer until it sets. Making sure the pan is kept even, otherwise the bark will be bigger at one end then the other. Thirty minutes should be plenty. I found my bark set up before that, but it doesn't hurt to leave it for the full time.
• 5. When it's set, remove the tray from the freezer and lift it out of the pan and break it up into pieces. Store in the fridge, otherwise it will melt very easily.
• 6. Enjoy!

CHOCOLATE HAZELNUT SPREAD - SUGAR FREE

Steps:

• Place the first 4 ingredients into a food processor and blend.
• Slowly pour a small amount of oil into the mix, a little at a time, until it becomes a paste (a similar consistancy to peanut butter or nutella).
• Place paste into a jar and refrigerate.
• Keeps for 1 month.

SUGAR FREE CHOCOLATE HAZELNUT SHORTBREAD

Steps:

• In a stand mixer, beat together the softened butter with the sugar alternative until creamy. Then add the extract and flour and mix until combined, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Use a spatula to fold in the chopped hazelnuts. Wrap the cookie dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 45 minutes.
• Remove the dough from the refrigerator, preheat the oven to 325 and prep two baking sheets for nonstick (I use parchment paper). Then use a scoop or spoon to scoop out tablespoon sized cookie dough and place them onto the prepped sheets, about one and a half to two inches apart from one another. You can use a fork to poke holes in top of the cookies.
• Bake for 12-14 minutes or until the edges begin to turn golden. Then transfer to a cooling rack to full cool before adding the chocolate topping. (see post for how to make the chocolate topping).

HAZELNUT MARBLE BARK

Steps:

• Line cookie sheet with foil or waxed paper. In medium microwavable bowl, microwave white chocolate on High 1 minute, stirring once halfway through microwaving, until melted. If necessary, continue to microwave on High in 15-second increments, stirring until smooth.
• In another medium microwavable bowl, microwave semisweet chocolate on High 1 minute, stirring once halfway through microwaving, until melted. If necessary, continue to microwave on High in 15-second increments, stirring until smooth.
• Stir 1/4 cup of the hazelnuts into each bowl of chocolate. Alternately spoon white mixture and brown mixture in rows, side by side, onto cookie sheet; spread evenly to about 1/4-inch thickness. With knife or small metal spatula, cut through both mixtures to swirl for marbled design. Refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour. Break into pieces.