We have a fantastic local chocolate shop that sells some of our favorite chocolate – and ice cream! My dad is a coconut (and chocolate) lover and for his birthday, Christmas and Father’s Day, usually someone in our family will buy him a box of coconut clusters from there. This year for Christmas, I was feeling a bit more ambitious and thought I should try making my dad some homemade coconut clusters! After all, I’ve done coconut macaroons, and those turned out well, so I thought why not try this. These ended up being really easy to make – there’s only two ingredients – and everyone loved them! Plus they’re easy to tweak to your liking – pick your favorite kind of chocolate (I’ve made these with both milk chocolate & semi-sweet, milk chocolate are my favorite), milk, semi, dark – just be sure to use good quality chocolates! You can also adjust the toasting of the coconut to your liking (I like my coconut very toasted), just toast it lightly for a more chewy treat, and toast a bit longer for a more toasty, crunchy treat! And that’s it! A quick easy treat that’d make for the perfect homemade Valentine gift – especially when made in a heart mold! Chocolate Coconut Clusters

7 ounces sweetened coconut flakes
11.5 ounces good quality chocolate, chopped

Spread a layer of coconut in the bottom of large skillet. Heat over medium heat, stirring frequently until most of coconut is light brown. Pour onto large plate or pan to cool. Repeat until all coconut is toasted. (I do a 7 ounce bag of coconut in two batches).

Place chocolate in a microwave safe bowl, drizzle about 1/2 – 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil over chocolate and stir to coat (this is optional, but I feel like it helps keep the chocolate smooth & creamy). Microwave on high, stirring every 30 seconds until chocolate can be stirred smooth.
Pour toasted coconut into melted chocolate and stir until combined. Drop by tablespoon full onto wax paper, or spoon into candy molds, and let cool. Once cool, store in an airtight container (if it’s warm, keep them in the fridge).
(I found my heart mold at Michaels, it’s silicone and was $4.99 – couldn’t find it online to link to).

-Manda

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