Crispy Cacao Treats

My apologies for being such a tease and promising this recipe for so long with no follow through. The season change and shorter days always take some adjustments in terms of getting good natural light for the photos, and it’s almost fully dark by the time I get home.

However, this weekend, I planned ahead! WIN!

We’ve been eating these treats for about a month now, partially because they’re insanely delicious and full of healthy ingredients, and partly because, well, they’re easy.

Really, really easy.

Crispy Cacao Treats

• 4 c. of puffed brown rice cereal (I got the Whole Foods Organic house brand)
• 1/4 c. maple syrup
• 1/3 c. of raw cacao powder
• 5 Tbsp coconut oil
• 3 Tbsp sunflower seed butter (or any nut butter)
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1 Tbsp maca (completely optional, but I like the faintly butterscotch flavor and all of the vitamins and minerals it brings)

Line a muffin pan with paper liners, and set aside.

Combine all ingredients except for the brown rice puffs in a small saucepan over low heat, and stir until well combined and glossy. Taste and make any adjustments (I tend to like things a little on the saltier side).

In a large mixing bowl, combine the rice puffs and the cacao mixture and stir until all of the puffs are well coated.

Spoon the mixture into the muffin cups and lightly pat down with your fingertips. You will probably have some extra mixture, and I highly encourage eating it by the spoonful to reward yourself for all of this hard work.

Not that I’ve done that.

Place the muffin tin in the freezer until the treats have set, then transfer, still in the paper liners, into a large ziploc bag and keep in the freezer. Since there’s so much coconut oil, these will remain nice and solid as long as they stay cold, but can definitely get messy as they warm up.

Eat straight from the freezer and enjoy.