Candied Cacao Nib "Brittle"
I originally stumbled across candied cacao nibs because I tried to make some to add to my ddukboki (the dish at Anytime NYC, which is by far my favorite rendition of ddukboki so far, was topped with a bit of candied cacao nibs). Something about the way I made them didn't quite mesh with the ddukboki properly. However, along the way I found that these candied cacao nibs are actually incredible by themselves as a dessert or a crunchy snack! Subtly sweet with a deep cacao flavor and an amazing texture, not to mention super easy to make - I would definitely recommend giving this a try.
Active Time: 15 min
Total Time: 40 min
Ingredients
> 1 cup cacao nibs
> 1/2 cup sugar
> 2 tbsp water
> 1 tbsp honey
> 1 tbsp butter
Instructions
1. Combine and thoroughly mix the sugar, water, and honey in a saucepan. Heat over medium heat, stirring frequently. Make sure to scrape down any sugar that ends up on the sides of the saucepan.
2. Once the mixture is thoroughly caramelized (you want to go for a deep amber color), take it off the heat and stir in the cacao nibs until well-mixed. Then add the butter and stir until fully melted.
3. Pour the mixture onto a baking pan lined with parchment paper. Spread the cacao nibs out into a thin layer (be careful - the mixture will be hot).
4. Let cool for at least 20-30 minutes. To serve, break into chunks, or crumble and top a dessert with it. Enjoy!
Notes/Tips:
> Ideally, you'd like to use as little butter as possible. The butter doesn't really add much to the candied cacao nibs (in fact, it makes it slightly unpleasantly greasy when it's cooled), but it makes the cacao nibs much easier to spread into a thin layer when hot. If you feel that you are able to do this while adding much less butter, by all means do so.
> Depending on your taste, you may wish to add more or less sugar, and you could also consider changing the composition of the sugar as well. As with most chocolate-y things, perhaps you could consider mixing in a touch of cayenne and some espresso powder into the recipe as well to make the flavor deeper.