quinn's place

october has been so fabulous!

it continues with these fantastic and simple chocolate bars, studded with pumpkin seeds and almonds. these are so easy to make, and taste amaaaaaazing.

i used a mixture of dark chocolate and a little bit of milk chocolate with almonds.

i bought a big ol' bag of pumpkin seeds in the bulk section with no intentions of what i'd use them for.

turns out, these little pepitas are super versatile and you can throw them into oodles of different things.

i've been putting them on top of yogurt & fruit, salads, aaaaand into delicious chocolate bars.

by the way, that persimmon has nothing to do with this recipe. it was just sitting on the table looking all orange and cute, so i threw it into the photos for some extra fall vibes.

chop the almonds into medium/coarse bits, not too fine. chop up the chocolate, too!

all ya hafta do here is melt the chocolate over a double boiler, and add your pumpkin seeds and chopped almonds.

i stirred just a touch of coconut oil into the chocolate to keep it moist. i didn't know if it would dry out at all once all the seeds and nuts were stirred in.

mix it all up!

freeze it all up!

after about ten minutes in the freezer, sprinkle some sea salt over the top of the chocolate while it is still a little bit tacky.

i sprinkled a touch of pumpkin pie spice to one half of the chocolate, just to see how it would taste. it's not necessary. i think i like the plain side better, but the pumpkin pie spice just adds a little somethin' extra.

stick the pan back in the freezer until the chocolate is completely hardened. i gave mine about 15 more minutes before cutting it up.

chop the chocolate into various sized chunks, mostly bite-sized.

YAAAMMMMMMMM.

check it out now, funk soul brother.

the sea salt really takes the cake! it adds a lot of oomph and really rounds out the flavor balance of this delectable treat.

this sea salt came from pete's parents that they just got for us in hawaii :)

they also gave us a black sea salt and a pink sea salt that i'm excited to find uses for.

this could be a good easy dessert to bring to a party or as some sort of gift. i think if you wrapped it up in parchment in a tin it would be easy to transport without getting too melty. i'm keeping mine in the fridge just in case.

hey hey heyyyyy...talk about a thanksgiving gift for the dinner host!

these are pretty rich and satisfying. pete and i each ate one piece and were ready to put them away.

they are sooooooooooo yummy, but rich!

p.s. peter said, "they are perfect!"

...but then he said, "the salt is too coarse." ugh. whatever man. i suppose i could have used a tiiiiiny bit less of the coarse sea salt.

good thing, because i could eat one piece of this every day for the rest o my life, i do declare!

30-Minute Almond & Pumpkin Seed Chocolate Bars

Store in airtight container in freezer or refrigerator

Ingredients:

7 oz. dark chocolate (I used Lindt 70% cocoa - 2 chocolate bars)
4 oz. milk chocolate with almonds (I used Hershey's with almonds - 1/2 a "giant" bar)
1 cup pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
3/4 cup almonds, chopped
1 tsp. coconut oil
sea salt
pumpkin pie spice (optional)

Instructions-

Boil 2-3 inches of water in a large pot. Reduce heat to simmer, and place a heat-proof or glass bowl into the pot. You don't want the water to touch the bowl.

Coarsely chop all the chocolate with a large knife. Place into the heat-proof bowl and let the chocolate melt. Add about 1 teaspoon of coconut oil for extra moisture. Continue to stir the chocolate with a spatula (about 1-2 minutes), just until melted. Remove from heat and let cool a few minutes.

Coarsely chop the almonds. Add chopped almonds and pumpkin seeds to the bowl of chocolate. Mix well.

Line a 9x6 or 8x8 baking pan with parchment or wax paper. Pour the chocolate & nut mixture into the pan and spread/shake evenly into all the corners until the chocolate is flat and even.

Freeze for about 10 minutes, just until tacky. Remove from freezer and sprinkle sea salt over the top. Sprinkle a touch of pumpkin pie spice, if desired. Return to freezer and let harden completely, about 10-20 more minutes.

Lift entire parchment out of baking pan onto a cutting board. Chop the chocolate up into various sized chunks.

Store in airtight container in refrigerator or freezer.

enjoy!!!!!

it allllllll started when this piece o' bread convinced me it was a donut.

this rustic campagnolo bread (the brown one below) seriously takes on donut-like properties when toasted and buttered. the key here is butter. it was the wildest thing. i honestly felt like i was eating a donut, on two separate occasions.

i put these cherry preserves (thanks greg & rebecca!) on this buttered slice of

grand central bakery's campagnolo

toast, aaaaaand it was so mega delicious and mysteriously donut-like. later... i made a regular ol grilled cheese sandwich with the same bread...and it tasted like a donut, too! like whaaaaaa!?

i began researching this magical bread straight away. all i know is that its made with honey and yellow polenta, so maybe thats where it gets its sweeter characteristics.

howeverrrrr, when not buttered, the campagnolo bread does not take on donut-like properties. its very earthy and more like a rye when plain...

rye bread and donuts do not go hand in hand for me...

its all so puzzling.

sooo, then i went on a toast making spree!

here's how it all went down.

grand central baking company campagnolo

on the left, a plump baby loaf of pugliese on the right.

the pugliese is most delightful and seems like a middle of the road bread, somewhere between the likes of sourdough and white as far as texture and flavor.

sometime a few years ago, i was seriously pondering how badly i just wanted there to be a place where i could get a good piece o toast in the morning with a fun topping......

fast forward to 2015, and its alllllllllll about the damn toasts with fun toppings.

uggghhh, why didn't i execute?!?

nobody wants to shut up about avocado toasts or ricotta toasts right now. i'm personally very into these types of toast because they are scrumptious. so i won't shut up about it either!