Chocolate Hearts of Health

My first go at making candy! I love walnuts and pecans, but there are not that many chocolates (dark especially) out there that use them - probably due to cost. I decided to try and make my own that were inexpensive and had some health benefits. Let's go!

Ingredients:
Chocolate (semi sweet or dark)
Chia Seeds
Walnuts
Pecans
Butter (for greasing the molds)

Materials:
Chocolate Melter
Heart Shaped Molds

In your chocolate melter, add in chocolate morsels until its almost full. Turn it on and melt them down adding more as it melts maintaining a full level that does not overflow when stirring. Using a soft spatula or wooden spoon, stir the melting chocolate. A metal spoon will scratch the melter.

While your chocolate is melting, grease your molds and add nuts to the bottom of the molds. You can also add your Chia seeds in at this time.

By this time your chocolate should be fully melted. Partly pour the chocolate over the nuts and Chia seeds. Next, add in more nuts and Chia seeds and mix together. Finally, add the last bit of chocolate and cover each mold until full. Any excess can be poured onto a plate and used as a taste tester.

Now, time to set the molds. Place the chocolate filled molds in a fridge or freezer for 1 hour or until completely hardened.

Removal was going to be an experiment, the butter itself was not enough to free the chocolates from the molds. After talking with my wife, she suggested a warm water bath would help, and it did. It made the chocolate just pop right out. You only want to place them in the hot water bath for a few seconds to simply loosen the chocolate's hold on the pan. Just be sure not to keep them in too long or they will melt back down. If you want the tops to be smooth rather than ripply from removing them, make sure to smooth out the melted chocolate before it cools and hardens.

So these might not look the best and are a bit big, but they taste great! I learned a lot while making this healthy alternative to store bought candy.

Lessons learned:
#1 Mix before pouring, as you can see I had Chia seeds fully exposed.
#2 Make smaller pieces, I had to cut these up before serving it was a pain and a mess.
#3 Try a silicone mold, removal was difficult.
#4 Always have your kids be the judge for an honest opinion.

I had a blast making these, enjoy!