Under 100-calorie Chocolate Bites

Happy Friday! I’m really excited because my parents are coming to visit. They are bringing us a Christmas tree. My grandpa always helps our local Kiwanas sell Christmas trees each year and they are going to pick one of them up on their way over this afternoon. I’ve been cleaning up and getting our Christmas decorations ready. We don’t have very many, but I know once the tree gets here it will look very Christmas-y and beautiful!

I made myself an iced americano yesterday at 2 pm. Not a smart move. That caffeine kept me up until 1:30 last night! Even though I missed out on 2+ hours of sleep, I did get to watch three episodes of Season Six Grey’s Anatomy. Layla is still recovering from our late night:

So, I haven’t started any holiday baking and don’t have any sweets around the house after I ate half a dozen gluten-free chocolate chip cookies last week – whoops! So, I whipped up a batch of homemade chocolate bites to keep in the freezer. Do you store your chocolate in the freezer? My friend used to do this in college and the idea has stuck with me ever since. I think that freezing it lets you savor it longer, since it’s harder to eat. Because I am the type of girl who doesn’t think twice about eating a whole bar of chocolate (a few months ago, I was going to have one square of a Trader Joe’s salted carmel bar of chocolate. Two minutes later the wrapper was in the trash!) I like to make individually wrapped chocolates to reduce the portion size.

The ingredients are all-natural and healthy. You can add chopped nuts or dried fruit if your heart desires. I like to stick to pure chocolate with a sprinkle of sea salt. If you don’t have the mini cupcake liners, you can always pour the chocolate into a freezable container and break it into smaller pieces.

Under 100-calorie Chocolate Bites

Makes 20 bites

Adapted from Chocolate Nakayummies from Whole Living Magazine

1/4 cup extra-virgin coconut oil

1/4 cup cacao butter drops (I get mine from Mountain Rose Herbs)

1/4 cup raw honey

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup raw cacao powder (from Mountain Rose Herbs)

1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt

Line a mini-muffin pan with 20 liners. In a double boiler or in a microwave safe glass bowl, gently heat the coconut oil and cacao butter until it has melted. Add the honey and stir until combined. Remove from heat and add the vanilla and cacao powder. Stir with a whisk until the cacao powder has dissolved and the honey is thoroughly combined. Pour the mixture into the cupcake liners. Sprinkle each chocolate with a tiny bit of coarse sea salt. Place the pan in the freezer for about an hour, until the chocolates are hard. Store them in a freezer-safe container in the freezer.

These make the perfect “I need chocolate or I am going to die” treats. Let me know if you try them out. I have another recipe idea for a chocolate treat with coconut butter. I’ll have to wait until this stash gets low and I’ll post the recipe when I make it.

Have a great weekend! I’ll post pics of the tree once it’s all decorated. Decorating Christmas trees and sugar cookies tends to bring out a “Not-nice-Martha-Stewart-like” side of me. My parents already said that they’d stay out of my way while I’m decorating, so I think I’ll be able to maintain my kind demeanor. Haha!