Why Dr. Hoody Endorses this recipe:
Dark chocolate dipped apricots are one of my favorites. Apricots are naturally low in calories, high in fiber, high in available vitamin A and contain many phytonutrients. Apricots are also an antioxidant, and they can help create healthy eyes, skin and gut and even help detox the liver. Dipped in natural dark chocolate is an ideal combination as it is so tasty and dark chocolate can add health benefit to your blood vessels, increase brain function, and even allow you to boost your mood.
Ingredients
- 24 Turkish apricots
- 11 ounce bag of dark or semi sweet chocolate chips
- 1 tsp coconut oil optional
Instructions
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Put the chocolate and coconut oil, if using, in a microwave safe bowl and cook on high for one minute. Let sit for another minute, and then stir. Put the chocolate back in for more 15 second bursts until the chocolate is completely melted and silky. Don’t over-heat or the chocolate may ‘seize’ up into a solid mass. Let the heat in the bowl do the final melting, while you stir.
- Dip each apricot half-way into the chocolate and set on the parchment paper. Put the tray in the refrigerator to harden the chocolate.
- You can store the dipped apricots in the refrigerator, or at room temperature.
notes and variations
- If your dried apricots are bright orange, it’s due to sulfur dioxide, a natural gas used to preserve certain foods. Because it maintains color in food, it’s used in light colored dried fruits, like apricots, golden raisins, and apples, etc.
- You can avoid sulfites by buying organic dried apricots. But they will be tougher, and a brownish color, not great for this recipe.
- The good news is that apricots contain only trace amounts of sulfur dioxide, and it’s FDA approved.
- You can dip other dried fruits like figs and pears. Look for soft, pliable dried fruit for the best result.
- Serve a bowl of warm melted chocolate and let everybody dip their own fruit, fondue style. Provide thin bamboo skewers for easy dipping. You can use fresh fruit for this, too, like sliced bananas, orange segments, apple and pear slices, etc.
Courtesy of https://theviewfromgreatisland.com