Chocolate covered cranberries are insanely easy and nutritious thanks to fresh cranberries, almonds and chocolate. This protein treat is made in 15 minutes with 3 ingredients.
Chocolate covered cranberries are an awesome way to have a chocolate snack bursting with nutrition, including protein, fiber and disease-fighting properties. And the recipe could not be easier to throw together. Just as with my chocolate covered strawberries, chocolate covered blueberries and chocolate covered chickpeas, all you need is a bowl and spoon, no special equipment is necessary.
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Ingredients
1. Cranberries. Fresh cranberries are essential for this recipe, not frozen. Nutritionally, cranberries are called a 'superfood' because they have so many nutrients not found in other foods and are terrific at blocking disease and detoxing the body with their antioxidant content. They are even said to lower blood pressure.
2. Almonds. Almonds do not need to be skinned for this recipe. Almonds are also high in nutrition, including healthy fats, fiber, protein, magnesium and vitamin E.
3. Chocolate. For the chocolate in these clusters, I melted chocolate chips and added a little coconut oil to retain shine.
See the recipe card at the bottom for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Tools Needed
- Measuring cup, spoon to stir
- Glass measuring cup, to melt chocolate
- Parchment paper
Steps to Make
For more detail, visit the complete and printable recipe at the bottom of this post, but here are general steps.
Step 1: First prepare. Rinse the fresh cranberries, dry them. Do not cut them. Then, line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Optionally, you can roast almonds if you want a crispy texture by spreading them on a cookie sheet and baking at 350 F for ten minutes.
Step 2: Add the cranberries and almonds to a dry bowl.
Step 3: Melt the chocolate chips and coconut oil in a pyrex measuring cup in a microwave at 60 second intervals.
Step 4: Pour the melted chocolate over the cranberries and almonds in the bowl.
Step 5: Spoon 2-3 tablespoons of the mixture onto the parchment paper lined pan with space between them.
Step 6: Let the chocolate clusters set for 20 minutes at room temperature or speed it up by refrigerating for 10 minutes. Store chocolate covered clusters in the refrigerator for a week or freeze for three months.
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Substitutions
This recipe is easy to customize. Here are ways to swap out ingredients.
Fresh cranberries. You can use dried cranberries instead. Since they are shrunken, use 1 ½ cup instead of the 1 cup of fresh cranberries. Also read the label and choose dried cranberries with no added sugar and few additives.
Chocolate. You can use white chocolate or milk chocolate, or your favorite dark chocolate. You can also chop up a chocolate bar.
Almonds. Walnuts or cashews can also be used. You won't need to skin either.
Recipe Tips
Do not cut the cranberries. The moisture inside could seize or harden the chocolate. Or if you do slice them, let them dry out first for 1-2 hours at room temperature.
Use whole almonds, retain the skin for fiber. And be sure they are dry, do not rinse prior to using in the recipe. You can roast or not, that's personal preference. I like the softer bite without roasting them first.
How to Store
Keep this treat in the refrigerator until ready to serve to prevent melting.
This is a long lasting treat when stored correctly. Put set clusters in an airtight container in the refrigerator for two weeks.
You can freeze if necessary in a sealed container, however the surface will become moist during the thawing process so you'll have to let them sit out uncovered at room temperature to dry off.
FAQS
Raw! That's why they are so healthy in these cranberry chocolate clusters.
No the seeds inside cranberries are actually full of fiber and are easy to digest.
Other Candy Recipes
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📖 Recipe
Chocolate Covered Cranberries
Equipment
- spoon to stir
- parchment or wax paper
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cup chocolate chips
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- 1 cup cranberries fresh cranberries, whole
- ¾ cup almonds use raw almonds, toast them or not prior to making clusters
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Instructions
Prep
- Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- Rinse the fresh cranberries and set aside perhaps overnight to dry. Or use a towel to thoroughly dry so the chocolate doesn't clump up (called seizing).
- Optional: Toast the almonds to make them snappy by baking them on a cookie sheet at 350 degrees for ten minutes.
Make Clusters
- Add the cranberries and almonds to the a bowl.1 cup cranberries, ¾ cup almonds
- Melt the chocolate chips and coconut oil in a pyrex measuring cup in a microwave at 60 second intervals.1 ½ cup chocolate chips, 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- Pour the melted chocolate over the cranberries and almonds in the bowl.
- Spoon overflowing tablespoons of mixture onto the pan. Use a spoon to scoop and form clusters. Gather 2 tablespoons of mixture per cluster.
- Let the chocolate clusters set for 20 minutes on the counter or speed it up by refrigerating for 10 minutes. This chilling will dull them though so if you want them shiny for one day, just let them set at room temperature.
Storage
- Store set clusters in an airtight container in the refrigerator for two weeks. For long last storage, put the container in the freezer for three months however the surface will become moist during the thawing process.
Treva says
You list coconut oil ingredients but don't tell when to add it in the instructions. Do you melt it with the chocolate?
Dee Dine says
Yes! Add the tablespoon of coconut oil to the chocolate and melt together. It creates a shiny surface on the chocolate.