Chocolate is life, so here’s how to make your own nutrient dense chocolates from scratch without nasty ingredients. This recipe incorporates the adaptogenic goodness of pine pollen with the heart opening magic of cacao. The great thing about pine pollen aside from its subtly sweet, delicious flavour is that it can enhance the nutritional value of any recipe with a medicinal dose snuck into the cooking process. I personally consider pine pollen an important natural substance to help balance hormones, aid in detoxification processes, help the body adapt to stress and maintain homeostasis, and contribute to protecting humans against the deleterious effects of today’s toxic, polluted world.

This recipe is all about the maple infused almond butter at the center of these chocolates. Feel free to use whatever nut or seed butter you prefer, ideally made with activated raw seeds/nuts, or skip the center altogether and just make solid chocolates. The sky’s the limit.

Thank you earth, for the opportunity to enjoy these natural, medicinal substances. May this recipe stimulate a deep connection to yourself, to others, and the universe.

Swirled Chocolate Ingredients

• 1/2 cup organic cacao butter

• 1/3 cup organic coconut butter

• 1/4 cup organic, virgin cold-pressed coconut oil

• 2 tbsp organic maple syrup (or sweetener of your choice to taste, such as raw local honey, unrefined organic cane, maple or coconut sugar, or monkfruit)

• 1 tbsp grass-fed collagen powder

• 1/2 cup organic raw cacao powder

• Optional, for the white chocolate: 1 tbsp wildcrafted local pine pollen powder

• Optional, for the dark chocolate: 1 tsp wildcrafted local chaga powder, dual-extracted - or other adaptogen, edible oil/tincture or medicinal mushroom you prefer, such as reishi, rose, bacopa, peppermint oil, turkey tail, cordyceps, rhodiola, tonic herb blend, etc. Get creative!

Nut Butter Filling Ingredients

• 1/4 cup raw organic pure almond butter from a glass (not plastic) jar, or other nut/seed butter of your choice such as tahini, peanut butter, cashew butter, hazelnut butter, pumpkin seed butter, or more coconut butter (melted), or even leftover homemade organic pumpkin pie filling, maple chia jam, apple butter, soft grass fed butter, date caramel, or gingerbread cookie dough

• 1 tbsp organic maple syrup

• Big pinch sea salt

Method

1. Prepare 2 bowls for the separate white and dark chocolate. If using adaptogens, place the pine pollen into Bowl A for the white chocolate (since it’s light coloured), and cacao with a small amount of medicinal mushrooms/whatever else into Bowl B for the dark chocolate.

2. Make the chocolate. In a small saucepan on the stove over medium-low heat, only melt down the cacao butter, coconut butter, coconut oil, maple syrup and collagen. This should just be the white chocolate base. Stir to speed up the melting process, and use a double broiler if you like. Don’t bring it to a boil, just get it hot enough to melt it down into a liquid.

3. Remove chocolate from heat once melted, and divide it up into Bowl A and Bowl B. Stir the liquid in with the powders. It can be equally divided or not, depending on how much you want to use of each colour.

4. Using a spoon, drizzle a small amount of white chocolate drops into some chocolate moulds. Place this initial layer into the freezer for 2 minutes to let it set.

5. Remove the trays from the freezer and add your second layer of chocolate - this time dark cacao. Place trays into the freezer again to set for 5 minutes.

6. Now that you have a base layer of chocolate going on, you can add your almond butter to the center. In a small dish, stir to combine the almond butter, maple syrup and sea salt. Place a small amount of nut butter into the center of the moulds, leaving a gap around it.

7. Fill the gaps partially with the white chocolate. Place into the freezer again for 5 minutes, and repeat this time with the dark chocolate until all gaps are filled. You could swirl the wet white and dark choc together with a toothpick if you like.

8. Place trays into the freezer for a final 15 minutes. Remove, pop chocolates out, serve right away, and store the leftovers in a glass container in the freezer until consumed. Enjoy!

Tips

• Since the chocolate is not tempered, it’ll melt easily at room temp. Store it in the freezer (for an indefinite amount of time), and serve right away, straight out of the freezer. Of course, you could take the effort to temper it if you’ve got the time.

• These are great enjoyed on their own, but also go really well on top of healthy brownies, loaves or cakes!

*As always, this is a disclaimer to check with your trusted practitioner before introducing new foods/supplements into your life, especially if you’re pregnant or breastfeeding. Adaptogens are generally meant to be cycled on and off.