This recipe for crunchy chocolate crossie clusters has been the bee’s knees in my family since I can remember. When I was little, once a year (usually in the colder months), my mum, my sister and I would gather together in the kitchen and prepare these lovely treats. Numerous trays were laden with chocolaty goodness, blocking all walking space in the hall. But with these tasty chocolate crossie clusters in the house, who would want to leave at all? Certainly, this recipe can be adjusted regarding the sugar intake level. To reduce the amount of sugar in this recipe, I went for a mixture of 72% and 85% chocolate. If you would like to lower the amount of sugar even more, just use 85% chocolate or higher (of course, if you have a massive sweet tooth and like a treat, or you feel that dark chocolate just tastes too bitter, you can go half-half with dark chocolate and milk chocolate). If you like to create another flavour, why not replace almonds with hazelnuts and add a small handful of raisins?

Ingredients:
For 1 large batch

• 70g almond slivers (alternatively, chopped blanched almonds)
• 150g cornflakes
• 100g 72% Swiss or Belgian dark chocolate
• 70g 85% dark chocolate

Instructions:

1. In a mixing bowl, combine cornflakes and almond slivers.
2. Break chocolate into small pieces and heat in a bain-marie (double boiler). For that, fill one third of a pot with water and place a small metal bowl on top. Put the chocolate pieces in the metal bowl and slowly melt them. Keep stirring to prevent the chocolate from burning. Be careful when you touch the bowl or lift it, for it will be extremely hot due to the accumulated steam inside the pot. Therefore, wear a glove or use a kitchen towel.
3. Pour the melted chocolate over the cornflakes and stir the ingredients well using a tablespoon or large wooden spoon. The stirring process will take at least 5-10 minutes to create a homogenous mixture.
4. Cover two large baking trays with tin foil. With a teaspoon, form small clusters and place them on the trays. Keep the trays in a cool and dry place for several hours or overnight. After the clusters have been thoroughly dried, carefully remove them from the tinfoil and put them in an airtight container. Store them in the fridge for up to one week.

Author: Danica Utermohlen
Picture credits: Danica Utermohlen

Disclaimer: This article has been edited. It was first published on 10/10/2014 for GloTIME, http://www.glotime.org/glotimes-birthday-recipes-gluten-free-choco-clusters/