Valentine’s Day is known for its abundance in chocolate and sweets and more chocolate. But you know, there’s only so many caramel truffles that a girl can eat! So this Valentine’s Day, why not show your sweetie that you care by giving something a little lighter (and healthier) but still outrageously delicious?
Last night I made coconut chocolate and pistachio covered apricots. This was inspired from the latest issue of Fitness magazine where they featured dried apricots dipped in dark chocolate and then coated in chopped pistachio nuts. Scrumptious, right? I decided to take things one step further and switched out the dark chocolate for white coconut chocolate (the same one used in this bark).
To make, you’ll need a 3.5 oz bar of white coconut chocolate (I can usually find this at Target), 1/4 cup chopped pistachio nuts, and approximately two dozen dried apricots. In a microwave safe bowl, heat your chocolate in 30 second intervals until melted and stir to make smooth. Dip 2/3 of your apricot in the chocolate and lay on a wax or parchment paper-lined plate. Sprinkle the pistachio nuts on top and place in the fridge for at least a half hour until the chocolate is firm.
Shelling the pistachio nuts and chopping them was a bit of a laborious task, but once that was complete, it only took a few minutes to get all of my apricots covered in chocolate. And eating these chilled, straight out of the fridge was divine! I’ll definitely be making these again as a cool summer treat.
But of course, if you’re still looking for something sweeter, chocolate-ier, and more indulgent, you can never go wrong with brownies.
These would be Mister E’s favorite brownie that he fell in love with when my mother made them. They’re rich, moist, and terribly unhealthy (if you ever want to be scared, read the ingredient list on a brownie mix box), but how can I deny the guy his only request for baked goodies? Seriously, Mister E doesn’t have a sweet tooth at all, so on the rare occasion that I get to bake for him, I’m happy to oblige.
Speaking of Mister E, this Saturday is his birthday! On a very impulsive whim, I decided earlier this week to visit him in Connecticut for the weekend. For the past three years, we’ve either celebrated his birthday before or after the actual date, so I’m very excited to be with him on the actual day! I arrived this morning and have been alternating between eating these apricots and brownies all day. I’m glad I have Mister E to share these special moments with.
That is a brilliant idea – i love dried apricots, chocolate and pistachios. It seems like a much more clever rendition of the chocolate covered strawberry treat.
i LOVE those apricots!! too too cute!
Wow. These look amazing and I’m thankful for the heatlhy alternative, thanks!!
the apricots sound interesting, I think I might be more receptive to them if they were smaller, like cut into four, so you could just pop them in.
but i’ll take those brownies any day.