Salted Pistachio Dark Chocolate

I had an idea I wanted to try for a while, but it depended on me having the desire to shuck a quart jar of pistachios. Lord knows that is boring and depressing. You spend all that time and in the end, only a third of that jar is green gems 😉

As I was standing around with time on my hands, watching the two youngest playing, I pulled out the jar and got started. Walker cruised by and ate a 1/3 of what I produced. Good toddler, eh? Kirk was working nearby and we both watched Alistaire walking. At 11 months his walking is crazy. He rarely holds on now, walking all over, trying to keep up with Walker. And he watches us making food and eating. His appetite for food is increasing by the day, hungry he is to try new things! I realized that, in a twisted way, I have let him baby-wean. More in that being my 3rd child, I have let him decide when he was ready. And with 8 shiny chompers in his mouth, he is ready. And oh, did he want what Mommy was making….. after all, if Walker was begging for a candy, he wanted in too.

The key is having flexible molds. Having made soap and candles for years, I can say I HATE plastic molds. They break. They don’t flex. They are over priced and junky. Silicone molds though were a great invention! And you can find them in ways you wouldn’t expect. How so? Ice cube trays. I have great ones I found  at Dollar Tree for $1, that are seasonal. The ones I used in this recipe, are my heart and star ice-cube molds I had picked up at IKEA. Just make sure the designs are small (no bigger than an ice-cube or so).

A simple recipe really, that doesn’t look simple once done. A pretty gift for Valentines Day….

Salted Pistachio Dark Chocolate 

Ingredients:

• 8 ounces dark chocolate chips
• ¼ cup shelled pistachios, finely chopped
• ¼ tsp fine sea salt

Directions:

Melt chocolate chips in a glass mixing bowl in the microwave, 1 minute on high, check and mix. Continue heating on high for intervals of 15 seconds, stirring until melted and smooth.

Spoon into silicone molds, tapping mold to settle chocolate, scraping across the top to level. Quickly sprinkle pistachios and salt over tops.

As an alternative, mix nuts and salt into chocolate, then pack in molds (the stars in the photos were done this way). Let cool on counter, transfer to refrigerator  Let harden for a few hours, then pop out of molds by gently pressing on bottoms. Store in an airtight container, in the refrigerator for longer storage, or on counter for enjoyment immediately. Let warm up to room temperature before enjoying.

How many you get will depend on your mold sizes and thickness. I had 15 candies.

~Sarah