Sorry to say this isn't a specific recipe for those of you who like to be told exactly, precisely how much to use, down to the half teaspoon. The amounts are guesstimates and you can change them up a little to what you like. It's not rocket science. Play with the recipe and use what you like and how much of some of the ingredients that you like. Also note the brands of ingredients you use will effect your carb and sugar gram count. Look for zero sugar on your labels.
My husband LOVES this chocolate trail mix to snack on at work and on his hour plus long commute to work and home again every day.
Chocolate Trail Mix
3 cups salted mixed nuts
2 cups whole cashews
1/2 - 1 cup sugar free, all bran cereal (the sticks kind, to add some crunch to the mix)
1/2 c sugar free coconut flakes
*whatever kinds of nuts or other items you wish to add - keep carbs & sugar free in mind
10-12 ounces sugar free chocolate chips (I used a mixture of Lily's Milk Chocolate and Hershey's Sugar Free)
2 T butter
1/2 - 3/4 c natural sweetener - confectioner's or whirl granulated in your food processor first
3/4 c peanut butter - lowest sugar content brand that you love
1-2 t vanilla extract
- Lay a piece of foil out on your countertop.
- In a large bowl place all your dry ingredients; the nuts, coconut, cereal and anything else sugar free and low carb you like in your mixtures.
- In a microwaveable bowl place the butter, peanut butter and chocolate chips. Microwave about a minute, stir. If the chips are still quite hard, microwave another 30 seconds and stir again. The heat from the butter and peanut butter will start to melt them. Stir until melted, microwave another 20 seconds at a time if you need to but don't overcook the mixture.
- Add the sugar substitute sweetener and vanilla. Stir smooth.Taste and see if you want more sweetener, vanilla, etc. If you want less peanut butter flavor, melt more chocolate chips with a little butter and add it to the mixture. Stir and taste again.
- Pour this over your mixed nuts/coconut/cereal in the bowl and stir until it's evenly distributed.
- Dump out on the foil and spread it around.
- Depending on how much chocolate mixture used compared to how much dry mixture you had, you might have a heavily covered mixture or a lightly covered mixture. (Mine is light - you can still see the nuts through some of the chocolate).
If you want small pieces you grab by the handful, spread it apart.
If you want to have bite-sized chunks of the mixture, either press it with your hand or with a second piece of foil on top so the mixture is pressed together (like mine).
You can let it harden on the counter, or place the foil in the refrigerator or freezer to speed it up. I grabbed small walnut sized portions, gently pressed them together a bit and dropped them into the empty mixed nuts container. When it was filled, I placed the top back on and placed the whole thing in the refrigerator. This way it's in both chunks and pieces, the way my husband likes and he can take the whole container to his office with him and keep it stored easily.
You can keep this on the counter or in the refrigerator. If it's summer time or your house is kept really warm, you'll want to store this in the fridge. If you've used a high ratio of peanut butter or butter compared to the chocolate, it won't harden as much as if your chocolate chip ratio is higher. So a higher peanut butter/butter ratio would be best kept in the refrigerator so it stays hard.
