Delicious dark chocolate fruit & nut clusters with pistachios, almonds, dried cranberries and raisins. Ready in minutes and so pretty, they make a great gift too!
When I was 14 and my sister was 19, a boy had an enormous crush on her. That in itself isn’t unusual—my sister has always attracted admirers—but this particular suitor belongs in the story behind today’s recipe. Let’s call him Bob.
At the time our parents were out of town, and my sister was looking after me. We wanted a movie but couldn’t find our rental card, and this was long before streaming made everything easy. Trying to prove his devotion, Bob turned up at our house with a stack of movies (clearly not matching our tastes), a large bag of salt & vinegar chips, and a family-sized Cadbury Fruit & Nut bar.
My sister hadn’t returned yet, so I had to tell him a date night probably wasn’t happening. Poor Bob—he tried so hard.
Things didn’t go as he’d hoped, but he did have excellent taste in chocolate.
Now, every time I see a Cadbury Fruit & Nut bar, I remember that night—and the delicate art of giving dating advice to a disappointed suitor.
Today, though, we’re making our own fruit-and-nut chocolates so you don’t have to rely on Bob for deliveries. We’re taking the idea up a notch: dark chocolate studded with raisins, dried cranberries, pistachios and toasted almonds. With ingredients like these, they practically count as health food.
Let’s call them Antioxidant Clusters—resisting one would clearly be a dieting crime.
You can swap in different nuts or dried fruit if you prefer, but I love how the pistachios, almonds, cranberries and raisins pair with dark chocolate. If your nuts aren’t already roasted, toast them on a baking sheet in a 350°F oven for 5–10 minutes to deepen the flavor and fill the kitchen with a wonderful aroma.
These clusters make a thoughtful homemade gift and are also a fast, satisfying way to get your chocolate fix. With just five ingredients and about five minutes of hands-on prep, they’re hard to beat.
Dark Chocolate Fruit & Nut Clusters
Rate Recipe
Print Recipe
Ingredients
- 250 grams dark chocolate (I used 50%—feel free to use what you like; above 60–65% may be too intense)
- Handful of toasted almonds*
- Handful of toasted pistachios*
- Handful of dried cranberries
- Handful of raisins
Instructions
-
Line a large cookie sheet with parchment or wax paper and set aside.
-
Melt the chocolate in a large microwave-safe bowl in 30-second bursts, stirring between each, or melt it over a double boiler on the stove.
-
Pour the melted chocolate onto the prepared sheet and spread it thin using a flat-edge icing knife to about 1/8–1/4 inch thickness. Sprinkle the almonds, pistachios, cranberries and raisins evenly over the chocolate.
-
Let the chocolate set until fully hardened. Break it into pieces or use a biscuit cutter to make rounds.
-
Store the clusters in an airtight container at room temperature.
Notes
Nutrition
Like this recipe? Rate and comment below!